The 4th Annual Greek International Film Festival Tour (Canada): “The Strangers’ Case”

“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 that is 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.

You can see the trailer here https://vimeo.com/914869187

The film shows at the Greek International Film Festival Tour (Canada) from 1-31 October2024 in 11 Canadian cities. For more information visit https//gifft.ca

RKS 2024 Film Rating 95/100.

The 4th Greek International Film Festival Tour (Canada): “Lost on Kythera”

“Lost on Kythera” is a comedic spoof not afraid to jab here and there. It carries on a spoofing and satirical streak like Greek cinema of the 1960’s and 1970’s and at times verges on slapstick.

Louie (Louie Betton) and Maria (Nancy Boukli) both university students are twenty months into a romantic relationship and have taken some time off to visit the beautiful Greek island of Kythera. Maria is Greek.

After cavorting in the ocean they return to their campsite and encounter a taxi driver who offers them a lift back to their campsite, a house for purchase and a free tour. Yes the taxi driver is blind. Only in Greece could a blind driver obtain a taxi license! What tourist in Greece wouldn’t want a free tour. Is there an expression, “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts!”

The taxi driver leaves them in a small village and shows them the house for sale. Strangely, a bottle of wine and cheese plate awaits them as if someone knew they were coming. The taxi driver departs without advising the love birds and Louie and Maria can’t find a way out of the village. Wherever they go they end up in front of that house for sale. Again, strangely a beautiful dinner is in the outdoor oven awaiting their dining delight. After waking up the next day they try to leave and end up where they started and more strangeness as it is sunny in the village but it is surrounded by heavy fog. How many times have I heard in Greece a tourist say that it is so beautiful who would want to leave!

In the meantime, Aphrodite, up above, watches Louie and Maria as after all they are lovers. Hymeros, Aphrodite’s gay assistant, is by her side full of flippant comments. Yes Greeks practice inclusion!

We encounter Kytherians Georgos and Poppi elderly brother and sister farmers in a perpetual deadpan state. So deadpan it is comedic. Georgos wishes to drain their bank account and bury it in the ground as Greek politicians are crooks and their money will end up in one of the politician’s Swiss bank accounts. Nice jab at Greek politicians.

Then the Professor and her assistant Benson arrive. The Professor is a buxom lady and Benson a bumbling nerdy type. They are looking for Aphrodite’s Heavenly Temple thought to be once located up in the Kytherian Hills. Aphrodite is not amused with their mission. Comedic characters most likely due to their over the top stereotypic mannerisms. 

Then there is the crusty old lady widow the cigar smoking Aliki (Efi Stamouli) slightly menacing but not evil. She is the only inhabitant of the village and Poppi remarks to Georgos that Aliki now has “fresh blood” and too bad about the death of the last couple. Has horror now replaced comedy?

As to which characters are lost on Kythera? You may agree with me that all are lost if not physically then psychologically.

There are solid elements of fantasy, romance, suspense, horror, comedy, satire if not absurdity. A combination to keep all viewers happy.

In both Greek and English with English subtitles when Greek spoken.

If I was to say “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” lives in “Lost on Kythera” along with “Pyscho” and “North by Northwest” what would you think? And that strawberry jam on the pitchfork?

This Greek Australian production is directed by James Prineas.

You can watch the trailer here https://www.google.com/search?q=lost+on+kythera+trailer&oq=lost+on+kythera+trailer&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTINCAEQABiGAxiABBiKBTINCAIQABiGAxiABBiKBTINCAMQABiGAxiABBiKBTIKCAQQABiABBiiBDIKCAUQABiABBiiBDIKCAYQABiABBiiBNIBCDc0NzRqMGo0qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:0dd22d2b,vid:3tskMBIow6s,st:0

It will be featured in the 4th annual Greek International Film Festival Tour (Canada) showing in 11 Canadian cities 1-31October2024. For more information see https://gifft.ca

RKS 2024 Film Rating 85/100.

The 4th Greek International Film Festival Tour (Canada): “Murderess” (Fonissa)

One of the very special films showing at the upcoming 4th Greek International Film Festival Tour (Canada) (GIFFT) showing in 11 Canadian cities 1-31October2024, Fonissa, had the highest box office sales in Greece for 2023.

It is based on an Alexandros Papadiamantis novel of the same name published in 1912.

Set in a small village in rural mountainous Greece circa 1900’s it has been filmed in greyish tones and almost at times it seems to be black and white and is accompanied by haunting choral style music. It is gloominess beautifully captured.

With a title of “Murderess” it becomes quickly apparent the murderess is an older woman Hadoula (Karyofyllia Karabeti) who is the village midwife and provider of basic health services. A string of deaths of female babies and young female infants sweeps the village.

Village life is patriarchal. The film opens with children dancing in a ring singing. “I wish I had a dozen little boys and not a single girl. The naughty little girls on a prickly pear”.

Hadoula’s daughter Delharo (Penelope Tsilika) gives birth to a girl and her husband on being told of this smashes a plate on the floor in anger and storms off.

The birth of girls is perceived with displeasure by many villagers and Hadoula smothers and drowns her way into being seen as a suspect in the death of many children all girls. Look carefully at some of her interactions with fathers “cursed” by too many daughters. It is almost as if a certain nod, eye movement or a sly word here and there gives Hadoula a license to kill. Hadoula recognizes that she has the hands to accomplish what many villagers will not do themselves.

Hadoula had an abusive mother. Eventually Hadoula marries with a pivotal scene being families negotiating a dowry treating Hadoula like a piece of livestock. Women are not treated well by men in the village and there are not that many of them as most have left to work abroad.

The village priest is blind both physically and morally as one is left with the impression he is a misogynist and even he had sight it would not be critically applied!

Some serial killers have specific missions and for Hadoula murdering girls saves them from enduring societal “torture”. “It is girls that come into life to be tortured and to torture us” she says. Hadoula believes her murderous deeds were not done out of free will. There is a belief by Hadoula God has sanctioned these murders.

Gendarmes arrive at the village investigating the string of children’s deaths and certain “informers” point the finger to Hadoula and she flees up into the mountains. What spectacular scenery almost otherworldly.

She returns briefly to her home and you may be dreading she just may do it. And when it happens you just might shriek, “Oh no!”. Hadoula is low but her last deed is beyond demonic. The village is in pursuit of Hadoula and like the widow in “Zorba the Greek” should they catch her she would be stoned to death. Instead she escapes back up the mountain and meets the spirit of her dead mother who has been dogging and chastising her throughout the film. It is clear at the film’s conclusion Hadoula has had a long fall from grace.

As the final credits role there is text describing the connection between infanticide and dowries worldwide. It was not until 1983 that dowries were abolished in Greece.

Hadoula is a murderess but it was village patriarchy and the dowry that were her accomplices. At the core is the economics of dowries.

A powerful film which is dark and brooding through its topic, cinematography and soundtrack. This Greek box office smash will be proudly screened at GIFFT. If you have difficulty sleeping after watching “Fonissa” don’t blame me. The most horrific film I have seen in some time.

Directed by Eva Nathena.

You can see the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb8mQg7ibdM

GIFFT is unique in that it has showings in 11 Canadian cities and some films are available online.

For showing details for this film and others in the GIFFT programme go to https://gifft.ca

RKS 2024 Film Rating 94/100.

RKS 2024 Film: “Starve Acre”: Don’t Mess with the Sacred Oak Tree!

Juliette (Morfydd Clark) and her academic archaeologist husband Richard (Matt Smith) live in an inherited family farm in the English countryside. Richard, who teaches the history of ancient British tribes, believes there was once a sacred oak tree on the property where the ancient gathered and may have even hung people.

At a county fair their son Owen stabs a pony in the eye setting off the movie with horrific squeals. Juliette tells the child psychologist that Owen in his sleep told her Jack Gray is whistling and talking to him. Juliette believes Jack Gray is telling Owen to do things he doesn’t want to do such as stabbing the horse.

While Juliette is having her cuppa at the front farmhouse door the sky darkens, the winds howl, birds flap away, strange voices are heard and she has a vision of a bloody skeleton of some sort. Owen collapses on the front door and dies. Yes ladies and gentlemen we have the beginning of a horror film!

Richard discovers in a drawer a skeleton like the one in Juliette’s vision. When Richard leaves the room the skeleton has disappeared and a hare is hopping about. Yes a cute rabbit who they capture and set free but strangely the hare returns into the house. Weird chanting, ominous noises and music creep into the film like the mists outside.

Harry, Juliette’s sister arrives for a visit.

Juliette discovers a book pasted together by Richard’s father containing notes and diagrams about sacrifices and summoning’s and there is a picture of the sacred oak tree with a noose on it. In the roots one discerns a rabbit with glaring eyes. Ancient lore says that the price to be paid to let joy pour from the oak tree will be paid by a price one, two and three. Well Richard has earlier unearthed on the property the stump of the sacred oak tree. My goodness that rabbit has rather glaring eyes! Then number two becomes number two.

One and two have already occurred and number three lies in a pool of blood while the glaring eyed rabbit is enjoying some life affirming milk.

The film is based on a 2019 novel by Michael Hurley.

Canadian theatrical release on 26July2024.

RKS 2024 Film Rating 86/100.

RKS 2024 Film: “SURF NATION”: Imposed Serfdom and Mediocre Surfers

“SURF NATION” spans 2019 and 2020 following the trials and tribulations of young Chinese surfers at the Chinese National Surfing Academy in Hainan, China.

China, in the true spirit of the “National Plan”, launches a massive effort for China to qualify for the surfing competition at the 2020 summer Olympics. China did not qualify.

In the spirit of advancing the collective glory of China a rigorous training programme is developed and foreign coaches are imported. The top surfing bureaucrat admonishes the young surfers saying their worth is determined by the glory they will bring to China with gold medals. They must prove to the world the Chinese are the greatest in the world. I suppose in the spirit of the Cultural Revolution we should call this a Surfing Revolution where there are no re-education camps but instead a surfing academy.  

The training is rigorous, grueling and high pressure for those in the surf army. The winners receive a salary and even sponsorship. The losers are sent home but many are waiting at the gates of the Chinese National Surfing Academy.

Alex and Lolo receive the most attention in the documentary. Alex was at 16 the top Chinese surfer. Then Lolo who never quite made it.  Alex was not seen as a model Chinese surfer with his desire for high-ranking tour designation the Olympics be damned. He even rents his own apartment to escape the cloying atmosphere of the Academy. Lolo is disillusioned by her loss of her free surfing joy which has been transformed by a national Chinese mission.

Great surfers are individualists and somewhat anti-establishment a threat to the “official” Chinese doctrine of the collective good. While the Academy may churn out loyal surfers the collective mentality it would seem is destined to promote mediocre but loyal surfing cadres. One may be tempted to make comparisons to the Chinese manufacture of star athletes to the Soviet and Eastern European athlete mills in the old Communist days where performance enhancing drugs were a staple on the athlete’s menu.

A few words about the public relations blurb about the film’s hopes of bringing inspiration to those who are learning new sports”. It more likely does the opposite unless you are reading from “The Little Red Book”.

Directed by Jessica Chen and Jerimiah M. Bogert Jr. It will have its world broadcast premiere on 18July2024 on the WORLD CHANNEL streaming on YouTube the same day.

RKS 2024 Film Rating 71/100.

RKS Literature: A Kiss Without the Passion of the Universe (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

“He kissed her without enjoying it. He knew that there was passion there, but there was no shadow of it in her eyes or on her mouth; there was a faint spray of champagne on her breath. She clung nearer desperately and once more he kissed her and was chilled by the innocence of her kiss, by that glance at the moment of contact looked beyond him out into the darkness of the night, the darkness of the world. She did not know yet that splendor is something in the heart; at the moment when she realized that and melted into the passion of the universe he could take her without question or regret.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald, “Tender is the Night”, 1934.

RKS 2024 Wine: Famille Perrin 2023 Tavel: Bardot or Twiggy?

As far a rosé goes the darker the pink the happier I am. Those wimpy pale rosés strike me with their acidity and thinness. By way of a bad analogy would you prefer to date Brigitte Bardot or Twiggy?

Aroma: Loads of raspberry with strawberry, red cherry, wet stone and a tiny bit of cotton candy.

Palate: What you get in the nose you receive in spades on the palate plus some watermelon. Firm with a long finish. Minimal acidity.

Personality: Yes I am primo rosé with impressive Tavel credentials. I may have fruity characteristics yet on the palate I am very serious.

Food Match: Smoked salmon pasta in a cream, vodka, basil, garlic, onion and tomato sauce over Tagliatelle egg noodles.

Price: $24 CDN (Ontario).

Cellarbility: Drink by Easter 2025 and what a match with an Easter ham!

RKS 2024 Wine Rating: 93/100 (the 2022 I rated 92): Natalie MacLean 90.

(Famille Perrin 2023 Tavel, AC Tavel, La Famille Perrin, Orange, France, 750 mL, 14%).

RKS 2024 Wine: Some Higher End Bordeaux: Château Clarke 2016

There is an ample supply at Vintages (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) of red Bordeaux under $25. Are they so much inferior to a Château Clarke 2016 from Baron Edmond de Rothschild at $55?

This wine is a blend of 70 % Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Aroma:  A forceful and dense nose of plum, blackberry, cassis and black cherry. You might want to comment Merlot at its best with a precise measure of oak that does not overpower

Palate: The 70% Merlot is quite apparent here. There is no doubting of the smoothness on the palate but what about the burn? At 14% is the wine just too big for its britches? The severe tannins kick in at the end palate. The tannins overtake the fruit so can we say, bearing in mind the Rothschild name, the wine is still youthful?  At one point in time high quality red Bordeaux was used to make long lasting wines at 12% alcohol that required years of ageing. At $55 a bottle is this a “tradition based” gamble you want to take. In this case, given the subliminal aroma I would.

Personality: Audrey Hepburn in “Nun’s Story” crossed with Telly Savalas in “The Dirty Dozen”.

Cellarbility: Best wait until 2027 to open and let it cruise until 2035.

Food Match: Grilled lamb (rare).

Price: $55 CDN (Ontario).

RKS 2024 Wine Rating: 91/100. Decanter.com 95. Natalie MacLean 93.

(Château Clarke 2016, AC Listrac-Médoc, Baron Edmond de Rothschild, Gironde, France, 750 mL, 14%)

RKS 2024 Film: “Kryptic”: No Horror but You’ll Be Caught in The Gordian Knot!

Kay (Chloe Pirrie) joins a newly formed walking ladies club and with their guide they hike up Kryptic Peak. Kay separates from the group and encounters a hairy brute creature called a Sook as it is referred to in local lore. As the guide explains thousands of hikers disappear in the mountains each year without explanation. In fact a well known cryptozoologist named Barb Valentine disappeared nearby over three years ago. Her specialty is the study of the hidden such as the Sook or Big Foot. And golly poor Kay encounters the Sook in the woods and momentarily some goo dribbles out of her ear. If the Sook is at the scene expect goo!

There is something very odd with Kay. She is hesitant, halting if not confused and at some points seem not to realize her own identity. After returning home she undertakes a bit of research about the missing Barb Valentine discovers numerous articles in newspapers about her disappearance. Whilst doing this research her front door window is smashed and terrorized Kay takes off on an adventure of an undetermined nature.

For some reason she decides to represent herself to the many strange characters she encounters as Barb Valentine. The characters are really bizarre adding fun to the film. They are “overdone caricatures” but so weird they add an entertainment value to the film whilst an any other film they would be simply ridiculous.

At this point I go no further lest I spoil your fun of trying to untie the Gordian Knot particularly who really is Kay? The film succeeds not on any obvious plot line but on the fact there are many possible interpretations and combinations of them and shiver me timbers if any of them are wrong but what might you walk away with is:

> mental illness such as bipolar disorder, PTSD or schizophrenia

> the possibility that the humans portrayed in the film are the monsters

> human sexuality can be monstrous, destructive and even deadly

> eroticism of the unknown beasts

> the destructive effects of fame

> the existence of a secretive side of many

> domestic abuse

A quirky thriller if you have a creative imagination but possibly pedantic if you are hoping for a linear plot. Pirrie plays the role so well so even when asserting her power she fails to realize it. I mean who goes in the forest in a miniskirt and boots with platform heels!

Directed by Kourtney Roy.

Plays at the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal on 22/24July2024.

RKS 2024 Film Rating 84/100.

RKS 2024 Film: “Widow Clicquot”: A Champagne Adventure

“Widow Clicquot” is one of those historical dramas with lush cinematography, brooding music and period costumes. It is the struggle of Barbe-Nicole-Ponsardin Clicquot (b1777 d1866) to navigate a struggling Champagne operation inherited from her husband François Clicquot into a successful business enterprise. François (Tom Sturridge) was an innovator with revolutionary ideas which largely failed. A poor grape harvest the year prior to Widow Clicquot’s inheritance put her in a struggling financial position.

Despite rampant sexism, treachery, war and a lack of funds through her determination, hard work including working in the vineyards, innovation, experimentation, love and understanding of the concept of terroir, adhering to her vision, taking advice from men on a selective basis she revolutionized the production of Champagne with her methods still in use today. She had guts too!

The flashbacks in the film of her time with François lay the foundation for her innovative techniques and a drive to continue the experimentation initiated by François. Her dogged determination was not so much based on the desire by financial success but the honouring of her late husband.

Haley Bennett as Widow Clicquot and Sam Riley as Louis Bohne her distributor are standouts.

Being somewhat involved in the wine trade there were several aha moments for me that may be lost on the average viewer but in no way detracting from the quality of the film. Of course, the actors are all British for a truly French story has the flavour of a 1950’s American war movie, you know where the Germans are speaking with an American accent.

Directed by Thomas Napper.

Canadian theatrical release 19July2024.

You can see the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOFBDabjZt0

RKS 2024 Film Rating 87/100.