Happy Day

I saw this movie on the eve of the anniversary of November 17th (The memorial day for the student's uprising against the Greek military junta in the early 70's). Even though the movie refers to that period, it also conveys a timeless message. It is filmed on a Greek island which used to be home to a detention camp for political prisoners. Voulgaris is using the original scenery to re-create the real atmosphere of these remote island-prisons, and it really pays off. What surprised me the most, is that the movie is not at all documentary-like, but rather a surrealist, innovative piece of work. And there could be no better title than "happy day" to describe it. The barbaric authorities of the island are forcing all the prisoners to completely submit to their power, not only physically but also mentally. Everybody has to pretend being happy and fulfil countless meaningless tasks until his personality and imagination is crushed. The penalty for not submitting to this madness is death. But the continuous presence of violence is not as straight-forward as someone would expect - it is often implied but not often physically applied, except for the "unremorseful". I would say that it exists more on a subtle level, which is even more shocking. See this movie if you get the chance, especially if you are Greek.

Pandelis Voulgaris gives us an excellent allegoric movie that reminds George Orwell's 1984. That movie could be about the extreme measures used by nationalists against communists, or by the 1967-1974 dictatorship against democrats in Greece, but the director doesn't let us know which island he is talking about, or which time of the last 50 years. Overall a great movie, a little slow in development of the story but really harsh enough to wake up the viewers' feelings against the oppression of the human individuality.