vardaxis Reviews

Honey and the Pig (2005)

Pigs, Doughnuts and Death...

[8/10 · 10 December 2006]

The film was made with the help of six adorable piglets and 23,500 doughnuts. The piglets survived; however, many of the doughnuts were eaten during the making of this movie. The cast is well chosen and Pavlos Haikalis, especially plays a very difficult role well. The leads are likable and handle the comedy well, while many of the supporting actors enjoy the excesses of the script with gusto. Olga Malea seems to be able to balance the slapstick with the pathos, and some scenes get a belly laugh, while in the same breath one finds one's heartstrings tugged.

The cinematography is gorgeous and many of the scenes display the beauty of springtime in rural Greece wonderfully. If also found some innovative camera work in the way that some scenes were handled. Small town life in provincial Greece is brought to life successfully and there is a wry commentary on modern-day mores and technology, and how these impinge on traditional attitudes and strait-laced cultural icons.

A very good movie, see it if you can, not only for the laughs, but also for an excellent consideration of some very "heavy" material that confronts us in an unexpected way and challenges our comfort zone. As far as the piglet and where it fits into the story, you'll have to watch the film and find out, its role is crucial!

To ainigma (1998)

Oedipus At Colonus Revisited

[7/10 · 25 April 2006]

A successful lawyer decides to escape from the constraints of her family and especially from the control of her "war hero" father and becomes involved in a gang of small time con-men in Colonus. The gang leader is her old favourite primary school teacher, who is now a beggar and blind (in her imagination a personification of the ancient Oedipus). Everything, however, has changed in her old neighbourhood: The school is now a brothel, her old teacher a shadow of his former self and the old school janitor is a look-out man and right hand man of the gang leader. The old janitor is sphinx-like in his obsession with posing riddles. As a last ditch attempt to become rich, the gang organises a robbery involving the antiquities of Colonus. This will act as the impetus for the evolution of a tragedy.

Avrio tha xeroume - Dharma Blue Bums (1997)

Crime and Punishment - Greek Style

[7/10 · 25 April 2006]

An interesting film where Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment" meets contemporary Greece, the threads of the novel interweaving with modern-day problems including urban living, crime, white-slave trade and flimsy personal relationships that get reduced to carnal contacts. A Greek man in his 60s forms a meaningful relationship with a Russian woman in her mid-20s. He is a watchmaker, she is a prostitute who has bonded herself to two-years work in a brothel so that her family back in Russia can have some money. The relationship is more akin to a father- daughter one than a sexual one, but the threads of Raskolnikov's romance in "Crime and Punishment" exist in the minds of both of the key players. Music underlies the action as it is important part of the lives of both man and woman.

Ante geia... (1991)

Shattered Dreams...

[6/10 · 8 March 2006]

Christos has just been discharged from his army conscription duty and is ready to take on the world, become famous, make lots of money live his life... However, reality proves tougher than his dreams and he starts working in Mihalis' butcher shop, where lots of money is to be made. Marina is Mihali's wife while Fanny and George are his children. Christos soon becomes the right-hand man of Mihalis, who sees in him what George, his son, is not: Hard working, interested in the business, trustworthy and pleasant. Marina starts looking at Christos through eyes tinged with romance, while her daughter, Fanny falls in love with him. However, Christos does have a girlfriend, Roula, who is also head over heels in love with him. George's arrest for a drugs-related charge will act as the catalyst for many events that will shatter the family's "normal" existence.

Black Milk (1999)

Black Milk? I Prefer it White

[5/10 · 14 February 2006]

Alekos is a young author who is struggling to overcome a mental block. It is not helpful at all that at the same time, he is embroiled in disastrous love affairs and dangerous friendships. He is thoroughly unable to help himself and gets into deeper and hotter water. However, Alekos has a big secret, which he hopes will be his ultimate salvation: He is able to travel in space-time and is thus able to re-live situations that test him. In retrospect, he is able to change his disastrous previous choices, taking the more advantageous ones the second time round. When he returns to the "present reality" he becomes aware that something is amiss and things aren't what they ought to be or is it, oughtn't be what they are... Some redeeming features in this film make it watchable, but I have seen better based on a similar premise. "Groundhog Day" springs to mind, which although completely different is related, and also the Chinese film: "Take 2 - Love Correction".

Zoi (1995)

Doomed Love Affair

[6/10 · 12 February 2006]

A 28-year-old man has a chance encounter with Zoe, an 18-year-old school girl who is shoplifting in a supermarket. They develop a strange relationship that progresses to a hasty marriage largely because of pressures from the two sets of parents. Zoe is young, vivacious and irresponsible, thus unable to fit into the mould of a housewife or a helper in the toy supply business of her husband. She wants to be an actress but fails the entrance exams and then toys with the idea of becoming a model. Her husband is passionately in love with her and he forgives her every trespass until a crisis point is reached. A well-shot film with strong performances by the lead and supporting actors. It is both a social comment as well as wry look at the modern mores of the Greek capital and the changed standards of a society that appears to follow too closely directives from non-indigenous cultures that often grate on the local ethos.

I gynaika pou evlepe ta oneira (1987)

Dreamer Rudely Awakened

[7/10 · 4 February 2006]

Something changes in the relationship of Achilleas and Anna when she starts to dream vividly and insists on relating her dreams to her husband. He is a barrister in the middle of an important murder trial and his temper becomes frayed with Anna's seeming indifference and involvement and preoccupation with her dream world. The viewer is often left wondering whether reality or dream is portrayed, this contributing to the (often) tongue-in-cheek telling of the story. The film is beautifully shot and there are some mysterious dream sequences, while for some light relief there is the mystery of the "music terrorist" who places speakers in the most unexpected places in central Athens and then blasts everyone with Brahms at the most unexpected time.

All Men Are the Same (1966)

A Refreshing 60s Greek Comedy

[7/10 · 19 December 2005]

When Polyxeni catches George, her husband, embracing Calliope, their maid, all hell breaks loose. She fires the maid and packs her bag to go home to mother. To her amazement, however, the new maid at her mother's house is none other than the very same Calliope she has fired. The curvaceous maid has managed to insinuate her way into yet another household and is now besieged by Polyxeni's father, her brother, and her brother-in-law. Calliope seems to be the reason for the title of the movie: "All men are the same..." Overall this is a fluffy comedy, but the message it gives is rather ambiguous... Are all men really the same, or is it Calliope who manipulates them in compromising situations for her advantage? The film is based on the play "Peirasmos" (Temptation) by Grigorios Xenopoulos (1867-1951), one of the better known of Greek playwrights and authors of the late 19th to mid-20th century.

Kayikçi (1999)

Cross-cultural Romance

[5/10 · 13 November 2005]

A deaf-dumb Turkish boatman living in Çesme in Turkey meets and falls in love with a Greek girl from the island of Chios who is visiting Turkey as a singer in a cultural festival. The girl is attracted to the young man and soon she too falls in love with him. However, she must return to Greece and he cannot go with her. The ancient Greek myth of Hero and Leander is counterpointed with the story of the two modern lovers. The film explores the construction of a bridge of understanding between two countries that have been traditional enemies, although communication between their two people is hampered by concerns that have little to do with the unifying human element inherent in their commonality. The film attempts to bridge that gap and there are a couple of sub-plots based on greed and betrayal of friendship, however, the story remains a superficial romantic one. Katerina Moutsatsou looks young and fresh, but her acting is still immature, while Mehmet Ali Alabora looks sultry and handsome, but doesn't get much of a chance to have his say! A few of the supporting actors give good performances.

Word of Honor (2001)

Pedestrian Road Movie

[6/10 · 13 November 2005]

Evagoras is a poor villager living in Cyprus, just as Greece is about to become embroiled in WWII in 1940. He has made a vow to visit the shrine of St Andreas far away from his own village, if his wife gives birth to a son, after several girls have been borne to her. Once the baby son arrives, Evagoras begins his long trek accompanied by his faithful donkey. Determined to complete his holy vow, Evagoras presses on resolutely, although there are several people bent on preventing him reaching his goal and fate seemingly conspires against him. The film starts out extremely well and is bitterly and poignantly comedic, however, as it progresses it becomes rather repetitive and is overlong. Some heavy cutting would have improved it greatly. Georges Corraface is a saving grace, playing the role of the naive Evagoras wonderfully well and Valeria Golino looks wistfully winsome, although her motives are far from innocent...

Pamptohoi A.E. (2000)

It's all about rubbish...!

[6/10 · 10 January 2005]

Odysseus is a model employee in Haramis Inc, a large company with an unscrupulous boss, Mr Haramis. When an oil spill puts the boss in a difficult situation, Odysseus gets the blame and he is sent to jail unfairly. In jail, he meets a junkyard dealer and an out-of-work mathematician with a fixation on the chaos theory. The three meet again once out of jail and decide to start a rubbish recycling company, which unfortunately, soon becomes successful enough to challenge the profits of Haramis Inc. Odysseus and his former boss cross swords again and end up in court - The moot point, who owns rubbish? This is an enjoyable movie which is lightweight enough to provide quite a few laughs but also carries a hint of a moral about our consumer society and the enormous problem of waste generation and disposal. Excellent performances by Yannis Bezos and Renia Louizidou, as well by the rest of the well-selected cast complement the film.

Ioanna, I Love You (1997)

Trite plot, boring characters, uninvolving film-making

[3/10 · 30 November 2004]

This story revolves around two friends who, in their way, both love Ioanna, the woman of the title. After 10 minutes into the film I fell asleep, waking up only 10 minutes before the end... I had not missed much, as it proved on rewind! Unfortunately, this film reminds one of the puerile efforts of film-making students who first start out to experiment in the medium. The characters are shallow, boring and fail to draw the viewer into their lives. Some gratuitous sex scenes are included and an attempt at a sub-plot involving homosexual tendencies is botched. The cinematography is atrocious, the acting questionable and the plot completely unimaginative. Do something better with your time than watching this film!

To fos pou svinei (2000)

Fading Light - Elegiac Tale On A Melancholy Greek Island

[8/10 · 29 November 2004]

A young boy with a visual problem learns to play the violin by ear from an elderly lighthouse keeper who recognises the boy's enormous talent. A schoolteacher supports the boy in spite of opposition from his divorced mother who would hate to see her son become a "muso" like his father who has deserted them. The acting is good and Alekos Alexandrakis gives an excellent performance as the old man of the lighthouse in perfect harmony with the young Vladimiros' able and sensitive acting. The musical score is also noteworthy and the lovely cinematography sets the scene for this tragic tale with mastery. If you have seen and liked 'The Color of Paradise' (1999) of Majid Majidi, you will also enjoy this film.

...ki avrio mera einai (2001)

An Urban Odyssey in Search of Humanity

[6/10 · 26 September 2004]

A young widow and her son scour central Athens in search of an apartment as they are being evicted from their present place of residence. As they search for a house they meet an amazing array of people who help or hinder them and provide us with an insight into the often dehumanising aspect of life in a modern metropolis such as Athens. The relationship between mother and son is explored as the vicissitudes of their search test their love and affection for each other. The plot is perhaps spread a little thinly and the lack of strong subplots make this a pleasant movie, but not a great one. Worth watching if only for the very competent performances of the lead actors.

O 7os ilios tou erota (2001)

A Good Period Piece

[26 September 2004]

Aglaia is a country girl living in a small village in 1920s Greece. She is "disgraced" after becoming pregnant and even though her mother and grandmother perform an abortion, she is not welcome to stay in the village. Her mother manages to place her as a servant in the rich household of an army Major in Athens. Most of the film centers on Aglaia's interactions with the Major, his wife and the Major's orderly, Pericles. A significant part of the story involves the political situation in Greece at the time, and the disastrous Asia Minor campaign, which obviously intrudes into the Major's household. Overall, a carefully executed film giving a faithful rendition of the era and exploring the sexual mores of the time, exposing the double standards of the society that it portrays.

Bonus (2001)

A good comedy with a soft centre.

[9/10 · 16 March 2004]

Pandelis is a garbageman who is anxiously waiting to retire and receive his well-earned superannuation payout. His wife and mother-in-law are also awaiting the super payout, but they have different ideas as to how the money should be spent. The usually submissive and calm Pandelis suddenly decides to react...

Philippides does a sterling job as the long-suffering Pandelis and his vicissitudes leave one with a warm feeling. Unlikely though the scenario may seem, one wishes it to be true, thus giving hope for the many Pandelides out there who find themselves contemplating life in their middle years with regret and disappointment.

An excellent movie, easy to watch but a little bit of a cautionary tale, also.

Ek Hasina Thi (2004)

Love, Betrayal, Revenge

[8/10 · 3 February 2004]

Karan is a wealthy businessman who meets Sarika, an innocent but

nevertheless independent and modern young woman. They fall in love and

Sarika begins to plan their future together. Suddenly Sarika inadvertently finds herself embroiled in illegal activities, is charged for a crime, refused bail and ends up in jail. Karan vows to help his girlfriend, but can he be trusted?

Amongst hardened women criminals, Sarika must change in order to survive... A well constructed movie, if one or two minor points are overlooked. It is largely a character study of a woman who needs to find strength within herself in order to survive...

Hawayein (2003)

Pot-pourri of the Human Condition

[6/10 · 18 November 2003]

Looks at the riots of 1984 caused by the assassination of Indira Gandhi and the massacre of the Sikkhs in the bloody reprisals that followed. A love story and family wrangles are interspersed with the political/social commentary as are some singing and dancing interludes, making this film a little hard to classify. What starts of in typical Bollywood fashion as a light romantic comedy, then plunges into some extremely disturbing footage of atrocities and then manages to shift again into a retro village drama scenario.

One Day in August (2001)

Miraculous Motherhood

[8/10 · 18 November 2003]

This film looks from several different viewpoints at the relationship of mother to child, taking as a springboard the holiday of the Dormition of the Virgin on the 15th of August, a major Greek Orthodox religious holiday, but simply an excuse for a break from work and the heat of late summer for the majority of Athenians. By extension, other relationships are explored and the 'holidays' that each group of people embark on act as the catalyst for resolution of different sets of problems they are facing. The film is visually satisfying, ranging from comic to tragic and concludes strongly enough, if one is attuned with the characters and their different sets of values and expectations.

Hristina (1960)

Greek B & W Comedy in the Hollywood Mould

[5/10 · 11 September 2003]

Christina is a young shop assistant who together with her brother decides to capture a jewel thief. Her boss's son, Dimitris, recently returned from Paris is mistaken for the thief and Christina decides that she and her brother will claim the 300,000 Dr reward for his capture. They follow him to Athens and manage to get into a lot of trouble involving more jewel thefts carried out by the real culprit as well as Christina and her brother being mistaken for the thieves themselves. Also, part of the trouble relates to Christina falling in love with the supposed jewel thief.

Journey (1962)

A well shot, dramatic weepie featuring Aliki...

[9/10 · 10 January 2000]

This film is a social comment of the times, exploring issues that centre around relationships and what was allowed and what was not allowed at the time (early 60s) in Greece. There are sub-plots also, mainly relating to the life of the poor city dwellers, social injustice and seeming double standards. Aliki Vougiouklaki is a poor young girl dreaming of a better life and the "handsome prince on a white stallion" who will deliver her from her miserable existence. She meets and falls in love with a young man (Nikos Kourkoulos) who also falls in love with her, but things are not as simple as they first seem. His past comes to haunt them and the conclusion is tragic for them both. Vassilis Diamantopoulos is excellent as the half-crazed old captain whose life strangely echoes that of young Aliki. A classic film, well written, directed and acted with music by the great Manos Hadjidakis.

Throbs at the Desk (1963)

Filmed as a light-hearted comedy, but bound to inflame feminists!

[7/10 · 28 November 1999]

Director Sakellarios has taken stars Vougiouklaki and Papamichael in order to try to repeat in this movie the success that he had in 1959 with "To Ksilo Vgike Apo Ton Paradeiso". The story revolves around a schoolgirl whose mind is more on romance than on her studies. She falls in love with a young surgeon and they marry, she foregoing her final year in high school in order to marry. She finds married life a little boring and unbeknownst to her husband she secretly goes back to school. He suspects her of infidelity and this gives rise to all sorts of comical situations. Needless to say that the film espouses traditional patriarchal roles as were current in Greece at the time. Watch out for a young Giorgos Kostadinou playing very well Lisa's private tutor! A good film with good performances from the leads, but curiously "deja-vu" after the 1959 success of "To Ksilo..." Maybe a sequel would have been better?

An Italian from Kipseli (1968)

A refreshing comedy, which pokes fun at Greek "xenophilia"

[8/10 · 8 November 1999]

The topic which is tackled by this film is the Greek "xenophilia" (the opposite to xenophobia!). This is the tenet that anything foreign is better than the local, Greek product, person, manners, culture, etc. This was rife in Greece in the 50s and 60s and the foreign "product" in this case is an "Italian" bride-to-be brought home to his xenophilic mother by a long suffering Greek son.

Maro Kodou, as good as ever in romantic comedy roles, shines forth as the Italian bride, perfect foil to the wry Alexandrakis as groom. Numerous comical episodes unfold and the film bubbles along coming to a riotous conclusion, perfectly exemplifying the old Greek proverb "A shoe from your own country is better, even if that shoe is mended!"

Maiden's Cheek (1959)

Cute film, interesting comment on the times (late 50s) in Greece

[8/10 · 3 November 1999]

Quite a cute film, amusing and engaging. Good social comment on the times in Greece in the late 50s. Excellent music by Hadjidakis with quite a few hit songs at the time. The Vougiouklaki/Papamichael success story had its beginnings here and was an example of a film romance that led to a real life one. The film topic concerns the then "taboo" romantic association between senior high school students and their teachers. Vougiouklaki gives a suitable interpretation as the love-struck high school student infatuated with her teacher (Papamichael). Numerous comical situations follow one another, until...