I read the writer and director’s statement (Daniel Bolda) about his film “Maldives” and had a chuckle as the film is, in my opinion, an open book capable of multiple interpretations. With all due respect and affection, I say Bolda is entitled to his interpretation as you and I are as well! Not that I would want to see a large volume of these open book genre films but an occasional one such as “Maldives” for lack of better words is “fun” and might be best parsed at one of the many waterfront bars in Thessaloniki with a cocktail in hand.
Stelios, an elementary school music teacher, inhabits a small rural village in Northern Greece dwelling in a small home in the forest directly facing a mountain. His best friend aside from Pantelis is his dog Maria whom he engages in conversation with regularly.
Stelios has a dream to escape the dreariness of the forest and mountain to the beaches and sun of the Maldives. His idea of paradise.
One day Maria vanishes and Stelios searches for her encountering strange tree like figures but never finding Maria until she shows up dead days later in his living room strangely covered in spots with the identical foliage the strange tree figures exhibited. Stelios buries Maria and shortly after he dies on his sofa and they both journey to the Maldives or better described as paradise.
You see Stelios went searching for Maria and he discovered the unknown which was a steady march to his death. The strange tree like figures were guideposts or premonitions for his last journey.
Ordinarily I don’t like spilling the beans on a film’s plot but it is symbolic and invitingly vague to such a degree I couldn’t resist.
The Strangers’ Case” was filmed in Jordan, Turkey and Greece. It recounts the journey of several refugees from Aleppo in Syria to the island of Lesvos, Greece in the Eastern Aegean Sea.
Amira is a successful pediatric radiologist working in a hospital running short of supplies but is never short of blood and suffering. After working a 72-hour shift, she takes her daughter Rasha to her parents to celebrate her birthday. As Rasha and Amira are lighting her birthday cake in the kitchen a rocket is heard approaching and her family in the dining room is gone in a flash of light. Bloodied and trapped under concrete Amira and Rasha are saved and quickly flee Aleppo locked in the trunk of a car and transported close to the Turkish border. At a checkpoint there are loud words heard outside then shots. The trunk is opened and Amira is yanked out of the trunk.
Mustafa is a” loyal soldier” of the Syrian regime. He despises the terrorists and participates in a raid with a secret police commandant arresting a child for scribbling anti-regime graffiti. Along with other “traitors” this child is shot in a public square. Mustafa has difficulty comprehending the slaughter of a child scribbler and he heads off to checkpoint duty with another soldier. The secret police commandant arrives unexpectedly and then a Mercedes appears driven by a captain. The commandant shoots the captain and the trunk is opened and Amira and Rasha appear. The commandant shoots the other soldier and orders Mustafa to pull the trigger and execute Rasha and Amira.
Then we encounter Marwan an African smuggler arranging for very shoddy boat transportation to Greece from Kusadesi, Turkey. The distance is relatively short but without sufficient lifejackets, overloaded boats and faulty outboard motors the trip is dangerous. Marwan has a young son at home and promises him they will leave Turkey soon. It is simply cash (no Amex, VISA or Mastercard) and if they make it or not who cares. He has his money.
And then there is Stavros, the Greek Coast Guard Captain, who has rescued thousands, seen many die some in his arms. He has a lovely wife a fine son but his mind is drifting, he experiences bad dreams and he is likely headed for PTSD. At lunch before a night mission we listen to his friends raise the concerns of many Greeks namely that the country is flooded with refugees that it is not equipped to handle quite like New York City forced to cut police and fire services, education and library cuts as providing 22 hotels and services for migrants flowing up through Mexico (some bussed up to New York courtesy of the State of Texas) is an expensive undertaking.
After a harrowing attempt to cross the dinghy is in serious trouble and some are overboard. But Stavros is there for a rescue and as he unsuccessfully tries to revive a child there is “that look” in his eyes.
Bearing in mind Marwan’s words the government creates the demand and the smugglers handle the supply the film ends with shots of devastated Aleppo and Turkish refugee camps. The supply remains.
There can be many sides on the issue of refugees (or are they economic migrants) and they are not just Syrians flooding into Greece most often the islands of Samos and Lesvos just off the Turkish coast. I have been in Samos several times and seen the German and Greek Coast Guard bring in mostly young men and I have talked to the locals about how they perceive the situation but now is not the time to tell you those stories.
I have taken transatlantic flights with Air Canada, Air Transat, TAP Air Portugal, Lufthansa, SATA, EVA Air and most recently with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines on Economy and Enhanced Economy fares. Their WC bathrooms start clean enough and in all instances, other than with EVA Air, the WC is after a few in-flight hours in a sorry state with pools of water (and possibly some other liquid) on the floor, paper (again what type) and unsavory lingering aromas made more unbearable by that blue chemical that goes down with the flush.
My Eva Air experience from Toronto to Vietnam was an exception. The WC was cleaned several times during the flight and was maintained in an immaculate condition.
While in Thessaloniki, Greece recently I had an airline WC discussion with an experienced traveler praising his WC travel experiences on Asian carriers who seem to pride themselves on clean WC’s. Singapore Airlines and JAL/ANA received the highest marks.
And always smile when checking in at the counter when you have no prior seat assignment. I was a bit curt with an Air Transat passenger agent checking in and although I was the first person to check in on my Paris to Toronto flight where did I sit? Right by the WC where having to listen to that horrendous vacuum flush for 7 hours I have endured since long term PTSD of airline WC’s.
Sorry for jumping ahead here. Do you like “happy endings” and by that I don’t mean that term as used in that “Curb Your Enthusiasm” episode with Larry David and his Korean masseuse I watched on my KLM flight from Thessaloniki to Toronto this week.
There is no clear-cut ending here. Director Penny Panayotopoulou has crafted an ending assisted by fuzzy camerawork having you guessing if it is a fairytale or a deathly illusion. I love being held hostage in the movie theatre.
Kostas (Giannis Karampampas) is a 28-year-old security guard at a major urban Greek hospital. Intentional or not the impression is the Greek healthcare system is struggling with under resourcing both in equipment and personnel.
Kostas’ brother Tassos dies of a brain aneurysm leaving behind a very young child Niki (Garifalina Kontzou). Niki’s mother Chrysa (Elena Mavridou) suffers from mental illness unable to care for Niki, that responsibility devolving on her uncle Kostas and his mother.
Money is tight for Kostas and his mother and mortgage payments are due.
At the hospital Nondas, a hospital orderly, tracks deaths and runs a “scheme” with a corrupt lawyer to litigate against both doctors and the hospital in the hope of being awarded damages with the lawyer and Nondas sharing a cut of the proceeds.
Desperate for money Kostas accepts 6,000 Euros from Nondas to give false testimony against a hospital physician for negligence. He deposits the money to pay for the outstanding mortgage payments and his morality kicks in and “double deals” Nondas by refusing to agree to provide false testimony and in that exchange angrily headbutts Nondas causing a healthy flow of Nondas’ blood.
Where does Kostas’ double dealing land him? Please see the first paragraph above.
Giannis Karampampas won the Fos Award for Debut Actor in a Greek Feature Film at the 65th Annual Thessaloniki Film Festival.
The winery is in Bolzano, Italy and I have passed through Bolzano several times on my way to Austria. It is 118 kms. from Innsbruck.
Aroma: Smoky red cherry. Some red beet and milk chocolate.
Palate: More or less the same as on the nose. Light with a micro coating of tannins that fades almost instantly. Minimal acids but a good grip. Short spicy licorice finish.
Personality: Somewhat like a Pinot Noir crossed with Sangiovese on crutches.
Food Match: Roasted White Bean and Tomato Pasta (See New York Times).
Price: $30 CDN.
Cellarbility: Drink by 2026-year end.
RKS 2024 Wine Rating: 90/100. David Lawrson Wine Align 90.
Alkisti (Eva Samioti) lives with her mother Anna (Maria Apostlakea) in a house on the Athenian Riviera letting out rooms to Greek and foreign tourists. Failed writer Petros and an elder couple the Hatzivasiliou’s are guests.
Alkisti often expresses herself poetically. Alkisti describes the end of the world in literary terms asking her devil to be care friend her opinion receiving the reply if there are beaches and bars there.
In a creative mood I might say the film is a reverse “Summer of 42” where adulthood and sexuality are discovered in a gentle way by Alkisti. The lighthearted and flippant music of the film accentuates its messages are delivered in a non-threatening fashion.
Key to the film, again thinking symbolically, is the small spot of mold growing on the wall in one room of the house increasing in size throughout the film like a sarcoma covering the entire wall by the conclusion of the film is akin to rot devouring the past enveloped in the house until its memories and those of its inhabitants are physically and mentally inhabitable forcing all to leave to a different reality: a good-bye to the present. Alkisti’s house is sold to a Chinese family somewhat like the present-day Greek economy being sold to Chinese investors.
Alkisti moves to a new future to commence her university studies at The University of Athens and even her beloved diseased palm tree Jerry is uprooted by a crane and disposed of.
One of the most honoured Canadian films of all time, Atom Egoyan’s “The Sweet Hereafter” (1997) was nominated for 16 Genie Awards and won eight, including best picture, director and actor. It also won three major awards at the Cannes Film Festival and received Academy Award nominations for adapted screenplay and director. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Canadian films ever made, it was voted the best Canadian film of all time in a Playback readers’ poll in 2002 and ranked in the top five in polls of the Top 10 Canadian films of all time conducted by the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2004 and 2015. It was named one of 150 essential works in Canadian cinema history in a similar poll in 2016.
The film is making a 4K restored “comeback” in Canada playing next on 16November2024 in Toronto at the Revue Cinema, November 19th at the Bytowne Cinema in Ottawa, November 21 at The Paramount Theatre in Kamloops and on November 30 at the Metro Cinema in Edmonton.
A small town in British Columbia suffers a tragedy in 1995 when a school bus skids off the road leaving few survivors. Big city lawyer Mitchell Stevens (Ian Holm) is retained by a family that lost their child in the crash to sue for compensation although it is never clear who is being sued but Stevens is out for compensation far in excess of the school board’s insurance company payout to the families. Were the bolts riveted into the guardrail poorly manufactured indicating negligence on the part of its manufacturer? Stevens professes that there is no such thing as an “accident” but rather negligence and gradually he crafts a class action representing the parents of the victims of the bus crash.
The film is about personal tragedy, shattered dreams and resulting grief caused by the accident including Stevens’ own tragedy he struggles throughout the film with. One member of the town (Bruce Greenwood) suffering the loss of his twins distrusts Stevens as a lawyer out for a cut.
Nicole (Sarah Polley), permanently confined to a wheelchair gives the last pretrial deposition at the town’s community centre and what a breathtaking cinematographic moment when she is wheeled into the community centre to give her deposition. And what a perfect match the song “Courage” by the Tragically Hip is when she in the car to the deposition.
Pay attention to the fairytale read by Polley throughout the film and weave it into the ending. Is she or isn’t she remembering when she first met Stevens she said she would always tell the truth. And what a strange twist of fate for the school bus driver verging on comedic.
A truly great Canadian film which believe it or not I have never seen but thanks to its 4K restoration I have now seen it and glad I did.
In a country with a different currency than your home country? Are you continually saying in “my currency” what would that amount to?
Well, you aren’t in your country are you?
Perhaps a better perspective would be, in most cases, to stop that comparison. Why not think local and act local as isn’t that the spirit of travel?
There are necessities you must purchase like food, transportation, admission to cultural and popular touristic sites and those other items not considered a luxury that cost what they cost so are you to starve because a pizza is $4.78 more than you would pay back home or jump with joy that a beer is $1.43 cheaper? Where does all the currency comparison get you especially if you are paying more than you would pay back home? A headache! And if its cheaper than back home a bit of joy. Why not enjoy your beer and pizza if it is a fair local price. For example, recently being in Greece a cappuccino at that place was 5 Euros and another place 3 Euros and at that tourist site 12 Euros with a tiny cookie. So you have points of local comparison which make more sense that the continual comparison in your home country. You aren’t in your home country.
It might make sense if you purchase something beyond necessities like a purse or jewellery but are you comparing apples to apples or apples to oranges? Is a purse in the Florence “leather strip of stores” the same as a purse at Macy’s?
The skill of avoiding currency comparison is like meditation. It doesn’t come easily. It requires practice.
By the way you’d never believe how much a cheeseburger in Porto costs in comparison to your home in Paddlewood, Idaho! $3.00 more. Who needs food anyways?
I returned two days ago from 10 days at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival where I watched and reviewed 20 movies. Three were Greek films about making a movie about a movie. They weren’t comedies as “All You Need is Blood” which is a movie about making a movie about making a movie.
Bucky (Logan Riley Bruner) is a teen aspiring movie director with a passion for directing films but lacks the equipment and the requisite technical skills. He strives for a big break when a local film festival has as its theme horror films with a $2,000 cash prize and an apprenticeship with famed horror director Hans Von Franz.
As fortune would have it a meteor lands in his backyard and his father Walter (Tom O’Keefe) touches it, some goo enters his body and he is transformed into a zombie. Well the number of zombies just keeps on growing and Bucky’s cast for his zombie drama film “All You Need is Blood” becomes very authentic and as a zombie feels no pain you can slice and dice them with limbs and blood spurting about like fountains. Very authentic!
We encounter a zany bunch of characters. June (Emma Chase) a stage fright afflicted teen actress, Vivian Vance (Mena Suvari) a cocaine snorting horrifically bad actor, smooth talking Moes Swan (Eddie Griffin) an evangelical sheriff and an assorted and delightfully odd collection of characters.
The movie would appeal to a juvenile audience as it is comedic at a less than adult level. The music is 1963 cheesy. The romance between Bucky and June innocent and the blood and gore is completely unbelievable although many might find it a hoot.
A stellar performance from Griffin particularly his description of hell.
Shall we call the film harmless and fluffy fun with perhaps a satirical steak about horror films in general which might have more of an adult attraction.
Thessaloniki is in Northern Greece and is its second largest city.
Thessaloniki’s Segundo Molo Suites is not a traditional hotel so do not expect a lobby, front desk staff or most hotel amenities. You are largely on your own here.
Your modern bathroom at Segundo Molo Suites
You may be daunted by its entrance or rather lack of entrance. Once you arrive at 19 Mitropoleos Street, the address of Segundo Molo Suites, you will have to walk down a path referred to by staff as “an arcade” that connects Mitropoleos Street to Tsimiski Street both the main streets of downtown Thessaloniki. In the evening it is not particularly well lit. There is a watchmaker, a clothes alteration shop in this arcade and a rather marginal looking snack bar but heavy foot traffic on both Mitropoleos and Tsimiski Street for most of the day and night should give you some comfort you won’t be mugged.
The “Arcade”
The front door leads you to a dingy and somewhat dilapidated “lobby”. A code is required to enter the building and will have to walk up a flight of stairs to access a raunchy elevator on your right. Classic Euro elevator unlike what you might expect in North America. Exit the elevator and you’ll need another code to enter the 7th floor the home of the Segundo Molo Suites a very much more upgraded feel than what you’ve just experienced. Shiny black marble floors giving a more standard hotel feel. You will require a code to enter your room or rather obtain the keys that will enable entry. There is a mini lock box you will have to manually set the code to open the box where the keys are placed. The coding device on the door is not functional so do not enter your code there. All codes will be provided to you before you arrive.
The rooms are comfortable and newly renovated but it but calling them a” suite” may be an exaggeration. The Deluxe Suites have back views and the Superior Suites have a view of Mitropoleos Street
The bed is a queen with two just right pillows. Comfortable yes.
The bathroom is modern with an enclosed shower. There is shampoo/conditioner, shower gel and hand soap. Extra toilet paper can be found in the bathroom drawers as well as dental kit, vanity kit and sewing kit and a hair dryer. In my shower enclosure gentle dripping could be heard from the shower head when the shower was being used in the floor overhead. Twenty minutes prior to your shower you must turn on the “Twenty Switch” in the fuse box by the front door. Turn it off prior to taking your shower. I think you’ll have the hottest water in Europe!
There is a minimally equipped kitchen with both a refrigerator, stovetop and oven. A rather temperamental stove top and difficult to figure out how it works! The freezer was dripping a bit of water down the rear refrigerator wall. The refrigerator was clean but the freezer could stand a defrost. Glassware was sufficient although only a single pot, a strainer and only one bowl and a plate in a suite that is for two. No condiments including salt and pepper. There was nothing that one could broil or roast with. Flatware was minimal but adequate and included a corkscrew.
The work area was comfortable, but a lack of proper overhead lighting made evening work a strain on your eyes.
There is a 55-inch Hitachi Smart television with cable television access and several music channels.
The room will be cleaned every two days with clean towels provided.
The manager Yota is usually present daily in the late morning while staff clean the rooms.
A full grocery store Matsoutis (47 Tsimiski) is a 5-minute walk to your right as you take the pathway up to Tsimiski Street. It is bit hidden in the entrance to Aegean College. Just a few steps away to the left as you exit the pathway to Mitropoleos Street is a 24-hour decently stocked convenience store.
Great coffee and snacks at Grigory’s right across on Mitropoleos Street.
Costas and Sofia at Grigory’s!
As for location to most of Thessaloniki’s sites you couldn’t be much better!
The price was $115 CDN per night on the weekday and $139 on the weekends.
If on business as I was I would stay there again but ask for a work desk lamp.
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