Smuggling Hendrix

I like movies which through comedy tell a sad story. It is not easy to be Cypriot and to have to leave your house and to only take what you can carry! Not easy if there are other people living there now, sleeping in your room, drinking your water. But it is also not easy not to be Turkish but also not Cypriot. Both sides are miserable.....

Is it an invasion or a war? Or maybe a peace operation? Is a settler who was born in Cyprus a legitimate citizen or a "war crime"? And is a settler allowed to cross the line or not? Is it a border or is it the green line? Or is it a cease of fire line? Is it TRNC or a pseudo-state? Living stock is not allowed to cross from north to south, but what about flying birds? What about cats and reptiles? The insanity that all inhabitants of this island have to live with, the corruption on both sides, the emblematic occupation symbols, the inefficiency of guarding the cease of fire line, the secret crossings. All sides involved have been unable to change the fiasco created in Cyprus, thus the escape goat is Jimi, the dog. If you have never been to Cyprus, this is your chance! If you live on the island, this movie will be disturbing enough to make you realize how close to each other and how far we all live at the same time.

The film shows the reality of the Cyprus problem. It teaches us that sometimes the solution of a difficult problem its simple.. Like the crossing of the dog from one to the other side

I was very hesitant going to watch this movie. I have watched a number of Cypriot-made movies, related to the partition of Cyprus and the intercommunal conflict between Greeks and Turks, some supposedly funny and some not. All of them, in varying degrees, have been pretty terrible. I am very pleased to say "Smuggling Hendrix" is the exception to the rule. The film is about the political and legal complexities and the ensuing adventures of trying to retrieve Jimi Hendrix, a mutt dog that strays into the other side. Unexpected relations develop among the protagonists from both sides of the border as inadvertently they get involved in smuggling Jimi back to home territory. It's clever, its cute, it's pleasantly watchable. First, the film makes excellent use of the scenery of the buffer zone in old Nicosia and its dilapidated old houses. The protagonists, including Jimi, criss-cross the divided city, sometimes legally and sometimes not. Second, there are no bad guys among the main characters, just a lot of politically confused, dogmatic individuals from all sides: Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, mainland Greeks, mainland Turks and...the UN. Third, this being a comedy, one does chuckle quite a bit, although it helps if one understands the peculiarities and intricacies of the Cyprus problem.

Smuggling Hendrix constantly brought a smile to my face even though it narrates like any other adventure film where ordinary people get together for a common goal. I think it is my first viewing of a film from Cyprus, which would justify why I couldn't gather the whole context of the Cyprus problem (while watching it). And yet, this breezy comedy with peppy music and some really funny dialogue delivery made my day. Sometimes when you are dealing with a problem, see if you can find a solution if you don't consider it a problem at all. That's what Smuggling Hendrix conveys and I love it. Recommended. Grade B.

(Watched at the 2020 European Union Film Festival of India (EUFF).)