Pity

Amazing. In times dissatisfying, others exaggerated and always, cringy. I know so many humans who feed from sadness and compassion. This is, obviously, an extreme example, and I absolutely loved it. It's extremely genius. I mean, how easy was to produce, direct and make a story like this one? This strange. I'm glad someone took the risk.

I laughed so many times with this contemporary-anthropological-maniac-horror story. Just genius. I wish this Greek weird wave thing produces more of this!

If you've heard of Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, Dogtooth), then you've likely heard of the Greek Weird Wave. That 'weird' tag has been applied to this film, "Pity", which also happens to share a screenwriter with the films of Lanthimos, further establishing the connection.

"What's it about?", you ask? If you are concerned over what the plot of Pity is, then this movie is probably not for you. If, however, you are a fan of this cycle of recent Greek cinema, then you definitely need to see this one. It's odd, distant, ultimately unknowable, but also deeply, darkly funny. It was a humor made deeper because I didn't see it coming. I laughed out loud. A lot.

If you are a fan of black humor, and if you sometimes find yourself the only person in a perplexed audience who is laughing, then this movie is probably your type of thing. I am that person, the Lone Laugher. And I'm also a fan of this Greek "wave". I highly recommend Pity.

I didn't even realise 'Greek Weird Wave' was even a film genre until I happened upon this excellent blackest of black absurdist (tragi)comedies. I thought Yorgos Lanthimos was one of a kind with his deadpan despairing mood pieces. I was wrong. Like another reviewer mentioned, I laughed out loud numerous times. Luckily I was watching at home (courtesy of Mubi), and not in the cinema as I had been for The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, when I had to suppress my laughter for more than half were in no way amused.

With his wife in a coma - probably not going to make it - husband gets used to pity and sympathy, so much so he goes to extreme lengths to ensure its continuity. The result is utter deadpan bonkers genius.

Greek Weird Wave is definitely marmite - you either love it or hate it, and I'm firmly on the former bracket.

The issue with Pity is that the film isn't as weird as it should be in order to carry on with the script and the humour it propose. In my opinion, it's halfway. For those who wants to see it you can find it in Mubi a streaming plataform. Sorry the bad english, kiss from argentina 🌈

What if Haneke's "The Seventh Continent" was shot by Lanthimos? Pity!

Haneke makes very good movies. Their only problem is they are not movies. Instead, they are sociological articles written by moving images. Whether intentionally or not, they fail to trigger emotions in the viewers. They just tell what they want to tell. Greek Weird Wave, on the other hand, catches the viewer with its absurdity and "injects" its position. And this is what I call "art."

Pity is a must-see about the emptiness of the middle class life flavored with a very well-tuned humor.