RKS 2024 Wine: Château Laurou Les Complices 2020 from Fronton

Fronton is a small appellation consisting of 2,400 hectares.

The wine is a blend of 65% Négrette and 35% Syrah.

Négrette contributes a wonderfully silky texture and raspberry perfume the best wines.

Aroma: Raspberry, blackberry, black cherry and licorice. Meaty.

Palate: Definite tannins here in a thickly structured wine. The fruit is buried in the wine meaning it is playing peekaboo. But with some concentration pluck out chalky blackberry and blueberry. Hints of pepper on a broad finish.

Personality: I am a bit of a Boxer from “Animal Farm” namely honest and solid but kilometers from elegance.

Food Match: A Bucky Burger.

Cellarbility: Best consumed by 2025-year end.

Price: $20 CDN.

RKS 2024 Wine Rating: 89/100. Wine Align 89.

(Château Laurou Les Complices 2020, AOP Fronton, Lionel Osmin & Cie, Pau, France, 750 mL, 13.5%).

RKS 2024 Film (Short): The 65th Thessaloniki International Film Festival: “Halycon Days”

A farm girl and an auto mechanic from a small Greek village are driving to the mayor’s office for their marriage ceremony but the officiant leaves the building before the ceremony joins the two as man and wife.

They must return the following day.

The camera work is brilliant in capturing facial expressions of the couple. The man seems distant and at one point resembles a man who has some displeasing statement to make. When returning to their homes the man stops the car to smoke a cigarette by the side of the road without telling the girl he would be so doing. He stands afar smoking his cigarette.

The tension in this short is agonizing. You may guess the conclusion but with its filming your compassion must surely gush out in torrents.

This is more like a funeral than a wedding.

The black and white film here gives the short a vicious austerity.

Directed by Alexandros Skouras.

RKS 2024 Film Rating: 91/100.

RKS 2024 Film: The 65th Thessaloniki International Film Festival: “Maldives”

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.

RKS 2024 Film Rating 86/100.

RKS 2024 Film: The 65th Annual Thessaloniki International Film Festival: “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 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

Directed by Brant Andersen.

RKS 2024 Film Rating 95/100.

RKS Travel: WC Blues on Long Airplane Flights

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.

RKS 2024 Film: The 65th Thessaloniki International Film Festival: “Wishbone”

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.

You may watch the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/embed/ASZ7Na_dmKI

RKS 2024 Film Rating 86/100.

RKS 2024 Wine: A Pinot Nero from Northern Italy

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.

(Kellerei Bozen 2022 Pinot Nero, D.O.C. Alto Adige, Cantina Produttori Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy, 750 mL. 13.5%).

RKS 2024 Film: The 65th Thessaloniki International Film Festival: “Riviera”

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.

Directed by Orfeas Peretzis.

RKS 2024 Film Rating 82/100.

RKS 2024 Film: “The Sweet Hereafter”

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.

RKS Travel: Stop That Continual Currency Comparison!

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?