I really don't know what the other reviewers here are talking about when they say this is the greatest Greek film ever made: it's nice enough but there is nothing at all remarkable or first rate about any of it.
The direction and cinematography are pedestrian and instantly forgettable, with only the 2 or 3 bursts of colour in a black & white film sticking in the mind. The performances are not really much better than the average TV soap opera of the time, which is where the cheap sets look like they've come from, too.
It's essentially one of those anthology films that were very common back in the day (Dead of Night, Le Plaisir, The Gold of Naples and Flesh And Fantasy are all good examples of the genre), but this one feels very cheap and amateurish in comparison; it meanders a lot and only the final tale, of the painter and his wife, seems to have any genuine emotion to it, but even that fizzles out by the end in an unconvincing manner. There didn't seem to be any real reason for any of the stories to be told, and there was no clear moral or meaning to be found in any of them, either collectively or on their own.
So I have to say I think there are much better Greek films to be celebrated, and I recommend Yorgos Lanthimos' Dogtooth or Michael Cacoyannis' Elektra for starters.
The direction and cinematography are pedestrian and instantly forgettable, with only the 2 or 3 bursts of colour in a black & white film sticking in the mind. The performances are not really much better than the average TV soap opera of the time, which is where the cheap sets look like they've come from, too.
It's essentially one of those anthology films that were very common back in the day (Dead of Night, Le Plaisir, The Gold of Naples and Flesh And Fantasy are all good examples of the genre), but this one feels very cheap and amateurish in comparison; it meanders a lot and only the final tale, of the painter and his wife, seems to have any genuine emotion to it, but even that fizzles out by the end in an unconvincing manner. There didn't seem to be any real reason for any of the stories to be told, and there was no clear moral or meaning to be found in any of them, either collectively or on their own.
So I have to say I think there are much better Greek films to be celebrated, and I recommend Yorgos Lanthimos' Dogtooth or Michael Cacoyannis' Elektra for starters.