Fonissa

I would like to see a different "spin" from the director on the classic "Fonissa" of Papadiamantis . Personally, I wanted a more modern approach and building of the main character of Kariofilia Karabeti. Karabeti on the role of Fonissa - the murderer- delivers perfectly and throughout the whole film building her psychological background and her opinion which is that when you kill a young woman you save her from world's cruelty. I would like some deeper profiling without the simplicity that is noticed on the film. I felt a rush on it but also getting a repetitive pattern . The main female actors on the film were absolute breathtaking especially in some scenes , but the directing of the film making it a horror version of the classic nouvelle, was just not that what was needed . The sense that something is missing was there , the social era was depicted and the film was saved by it's actors . Needed something extra to reach on top , and that couldn't come with ghosts but only maybe with the true horror of the eyes of a gifted artist such as Karabeti.

What misery a bad Papadiamantis story in its bad film adaptation. The case is moving slowly. Very late, you could barely watch it if you have sleep problems. The protagonist saves the situation a little, but in the midst of a bad mess, she too gets carried away. What a bad movie. How Bad interpretations. A mess of an hour and a half that you just want to end before you get a headache. Don't make the mistake of seeing her. Don't press cinema and if you happen to be on TV just change the channel. An attempt by the director to give a dramatic tone to the film is very dark in every scene. The countless overcast shots and the constant black clothing of the actors. A bad music and overall a golden mediocrity.

Nai men alla...

The story needed more work; as Georgousopoulos once told me when we were having coffee in Kolonaki, if a creator uses Papadiamantis' work they should respect the main structure, and then they may add whatever the heck they wish to add; if they don't, the plot starts to have problems.

I went to watch the movie hoping it would be a masterpiece. I think they did a good job but something was missing...

On the other hand I loved the level of production; them cloths; the scenery; the beautiful village; the actresses; Karampeti, in particular.

Maybe next time a creator makes a movie out of Fonissa they try to use Zoulias' work for "the women of Papadianantis".

Just watched Fonissa in all its glory on the big screen: Great picture and DoP. Costumes,scenery,ligh,props,all really well taken care of.

The acting as expected was top notch by the star Ms Karabeti,however due to the strange idiomatic 1800s Greek language the rest of the cast felt sub par to me,as expected once again: most actors in Greek movies perform like they are on a theatrical stage rather than on a movie. And they always use the excuse of "that's how we wanted it,it's more dramatic" Well,nope it's just annoying.

Same goes for the usual problem in 99% of Greek movies: LACK OF CURVES. Films need to have some curves of tension,change of pace,emotion,and have a climax. This one didn't. Same stuff happening to all the film same pace same angles until the last scene when it's ends so abrupt and you re like "ah ok" But in all,a decent movie and bravo to everyone,especially director and DoP and costumes.

A pretentious boring film hyped by the local media as an artistic masterpiece!!! All we have instead are schematic characters, bad acting from all, even from the leading actress, lack of directing guidance to the actors, inferior sound design as it was often the case voices to sound dettached from the image context, questionable soundrack foreign to the spirit of the story and more keen to the spirit of Herzog's Nosferatu!!!

Angelopoulos 50 years earlier with his "Reconstitution" has so much more poignantly described and blended his story into its socially anthropological and geographhical context.

Modern Greek Cinema has so many better samples to offer in world viewers.