Dekapentavgoustos

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.

Modern Greek Cinema? is there such a thing? over the past few years there seems to be a sudden rise in the number of movies produced in Greece. Such is the popularity lately, that Greece has even got a film festival in Salonika which invites Greek as well as international director's work. One of winners of this festival in 2002 was "Dekapentavgoustos".

Dekapentavgoustos is a Greek National holiday, which is celebrated every 15th of August, to mark Virgin Mary's day. The word "Dekapente" means 15 and "avgoustos" means August. Combine the two and you have 15th of August.

The movie shows three different stories, occurring in parallel on this day of celebration. Some-one may recall the Latin American movie 'Amores Perros' which has the same format... It is about three different families which leave Athens, the capital, to go on holiday -but they all end up in different situations.

The movie starts off with a 'feel-good' factor as the protagonists embark on their holidays and ends up with emotional tears as the story takes up a very unexpectedly different path. If you like sunny-Mediterranean cinefile movies you will love this film. It has it all- melodrama, comedy, action, love... a "first" for the Greek movie business -a must-see!

The Virgin Mary is the deus ex machina in the four storylines of this ambitious Greek art film. August 15 is the day of the Dormition of the Virgin in the Orthodox calendar, but for Athenians it is little more than an excuse to leave the city for the countryside. Four social classes are represented -the nouveau riche, the middle class, the working class and the sizeable "scrounging class" of Athens- and the director does an excellent job of delving into the characters. The young hitchhiker, the car mechanic, the lady on the highway who gets run over and the young girl at the end are the manifestations of the Virgin who change the course of the four plot lines. Some inexplicable endings, however, left me unfulfilled and disappointed. Some might say that's what the director intended, but I say hogwash. This great movie seems incomplete.

Not ever since the late 1950's has Greek cinema managed to reach international audiences. And it's all for a reason as Greek cinema seems to finally becoming relevant again.. Giannaris has definitely played a part in that mini revival of sorts as he's definitely one of the most interesting of modern Greek filmmakers with a distinct vision and an edge. Dekapentavgoustos follows 4 parallel stories all taking place in the public holiday of August 15 and though I dislike comparisons, the film was constantly reminding me of something like Crash despite the fact that the film predates Crash.. It's all very well done though, the cinematography is lush, the performances are superb but I somehow feel that Giannaris has a bigger and more engaging story to tell, so I'm looking forward to the next work of this talented director. Check out From The Edge of the City, as well.

A splendid film about ordinary existence. Crisis, hopes, searches and dreams, in a subtle mixture with a special flavor of Christianism. Delicate exploration of a small world and art to discover each detail of a common struggle. Symbols, signs and metaphors, breaths of crisis, shadows of ages and the trip to essential miracle. Images from Bergman and great expectation.

A very Greek movie with universal message. For everybody it is important a "Dekapendavgoustos", day of escape and confrontation with interior demons. Day of introspection of entire life and building of a reasonable answer. The day of past's lost. Day of fight with the Angel and talk with God on Sinai mount.

Tho characters defines the reality of film: The Mother of God and the young thief- strange epheb and ambiguous messenger of basic values. The projection of this two presences is the Morfoula's search of her daughter and the intensity of her pray.

Few people and an only purpose. Slices of life in an August day.