To mikro psari

It's dark, full of verbal and physical violence, but down under all those things, there's nothing less than the perfect portrait of a damned person. A person whom one action defined his whole life, a person who found and lost his purpose, an empty person, but still, a person gracefully showing a last act of humanity, before leaving.

Around him, the dark world of crime, a parallel universe that lives side by side with our "normal" one. A universe that is very different to leave, a universe with unspoken laws that bend or break depending on the situation.

Great film, great leading actor, very sharp and intense directing when required. Must see.

If you lived a criminal life, it won't be easy to just step out of it. We know that cliché, even if we never actually had anything to do with criminal life itself. And even (or even more so) in a financially unstable country as Greek, there is always some interests to gain and money to launder.

This does concentrate on a small fish (hence the title) trying to survive in the pond (to make the picture complete). It is understated and sort of mellow. But not mellow when it comes to the language. There is a lot of swearing going on and a lot of repetition. To a point where it gets annoying. It might be the world our character is living at, but the apathy is not appealing nor does it really enhance the viewing experience.

Having said that, the movie is also violent and does quite a few things right. You do know where this is going (paying respect to some great movies, especially with that ending), but never achieving the greatness it set out to. A decent effort that clogs itself up, hindering it to really achieve its full potential

Yannis Economidis, the director, started his career by doing something really extraordinary. Something new and daring. His movies do not follow the conventional rules of a "product" that has to sell. His movies have to say something and that's it.Of course sometimes this turns out bad, so Yannis had to do a few things for the first time. Like choosing actors with a very different approach. The team of actors were some well known and recognizable faces, merged with actors that are appropriate in a Yannis Economidis film. If I would be a director, I would have the same aesthetics as Yannis has. I love the photography of the movie. Starting with abandoned places, rust, dirt, same aesthetic as the incredible "dirty street light" scene for a few seconds on Soul Kicking. The sound is nicely layered to the whole film. Keeps realism flowing through the whole film. The music. Well I have to state that there is no fanfare without reason. It is simple and minimalistic yet it is solid and well fit to the whole feeling of the movie. I take the movie as a noir gangster film, that focus on ethics. Stratos is a really nice anti-hero. Well made, having a background, a present situation and finally a redeeming thing to do. The movie plays with the spectator's feelings. It is empty and silent, like a desert of Strato's heart. Yet in the end, it seems that feelings come back to life inside Strato. He is capable to love purely and that makes him do something out of his feelings. Strato's feelings got him into trouble in the past. Now for the second time his feelings will put an end on all of this, but the feelings are different and that is what redeems him.

A full story, well made, with Yanni's signature placed well inside it. Yannis had to deal with the fact that he had to make something more... commercial than his art. He had to care about drawing people to watch his movies. It is irritating I suppose. But yet it is needed. The good thing is that he kept his character and personal signature of his movies into this one too.

I would put a 10/10 because it surpasses every Greek movie I have ever seen, but i still expect more by the director. This is not his peak. So Yannis, I put an 8/10 just to make you do that leap that might make you direct an award winning movie in the end.

Do I recommend it? Of course I do. But it isn't for everyone. It is not a pleasant movie you are gonna enjoy with your girlfriend, drinking cola and eating tortilla dips, no. Such movies, like "Το Μικρό Ψάρι" make you think and feel hard. And that is what I like about them.

I watched "Spirtokouto" with friends. All his next movies, were watched by me into a cinema room, from a seat, just to support and show my respect to one of the greatest and most daring directors Greece has.

The movie tells the tale of Stratos, a weathered hit-man, who more-or- less wants to leave the past behind him. But as we know from other gangster-stories, once you get in it's hard to get out.

This is a very slow-paced crime drama. Well directed, with an impressive lead actor and good, believable cast. There are many well-composed scenes that create a desolate world, and one has to wonder how close to the real Greece that is.

The only (but important) element that bothered me was the length, which is mostly due to an exaggerated amount of minimalistic long scenes. The story was compelling enough, I wish it was just edited-down a bit. But I respect the director and his vision.

After the screening, here at the Ghent Film Festival, I've overheard someone say "this is like the Greek Drive, but at least Drive had style". I disagree with that remark and would not compare the two films at all.

I saw it last night with my wife, so it still plays in my mind.From the technical side it is completely professional.The sound quality amazing.The synchronism and the tremendous clarity of it creates an unusual impression of space where the viewer is absorbed until the last ,righteous moment. The story follows the laws of classic noir narration. So, though the protagonist is a payed killer, a certain ethic guides the story. The action is dense and not always foreseeable. All actors play naturally and very well.

An unusually good film for the Greek standards until now, not a film for the whole family because of some strong language , but certainly a film I highly recommend .