germanicus19 Reviews

Thilyki etaireia (1999)

An under-appreciated movie

[9/10 · 26 July 2006]

Nick Perakis is undoubtedly one of my favorites Greek directors (if not the most favorite one). Thiliki Eteria is definitely one of his most under-appreciated works.

I hold this movie as a folklore study. It is not a movie about sex, or about Greeks and sex. It is a movie about some small Greek town (population around 30-60 thousand) and about its inhabitants. A multitude of people/roles appear on this movie. Both the hotshots: the TV-"mogul" (small town style of course :-) ), the newspaper publisher, the representative (senator/MP), the archimandrite (high cleric, below bishop) and the "low-lifes": the soldier, the gym-owner, the loan shark, the private-eye and a few more. With them, their wives and their mistresses. Yes. Sex is all-around. Yes. Sex is depicted (male homosexuality appears as well, albeit no female one...) Yes, a sex scandal is where it all revolves around. Still. I don't see this movie as just the depiction of a sex scandal in a small Greek town. I actually see it as the most realistic depiction of both that (for the Greeks, remember all those pink villas that come up in the news, once in Argos, another time in Larisa and so on) and of the social interactions in the "high" echelons of such a city. Personally, after seeing this movie, I claimed that I finally understood (or at least got a glimpse) of how these things work.

Furthermore, Perakis shows his ability in picking actors that really fill the characters. Much like Loufa kai Parallagi 2, I cannot really discern whether all these actors/actresses are that good, or whether the characters were made for them.

This is a very entertaining satire. You will not laugh like in Safe Sex, but it will keep a smile in your face. Finally, expect some sort of a crime story to lurch in the background. Much like in real life :-)

I megali apofraxi (1987 Video)

*THE* Greek Cult movie

[10/10 · 2 November 2005]

Words fail me when I try to describe this masterpiece of Greek Video Art! This *is* the true heritage of Aristophanes, Menander, Souris and Veggos. Some of the scenes (especially some of the toilet ones) are classics both in the visual sense and in a social-commentary sense. No one can fully appreciate modern Greek thought, culture and of course politics without having seen this revolutionary Bunuelesque film.

Takis Vougiouklakis is definitely the most misunderstood creator in modern Greek art. Other users might call this trash, even though they love it. This just shows their subconsciousness at work. His camera work here reaches its zenith and his story-telling was never better.

Kostas Tsakonas is not just the personification of *Greek* (Anthony Quinn eat your heart out). He simply *is*. This is not just a "cogito ergo sum". This is a "can-be-seen/can-act ergo sum".

It's a pity this hard-to-get gem is so elusive to English/not-Greek speaking audiences. I'm not going to claim that the ability to see this is reason enough to learn Greek, but still you just *have* to pester that Greek friend of yours to obtain this for you and to help you understand it.