Adults in the Room

Good casting and photography in a loyal transcript of Yanis Varoufakis' original book. However I found the direction uninspired and dry. The film could be watched as a dramatised documentary as the events are stripped down of any emotional attachments. It is recommended for people that prefer a visualised version of the author's excellent book.

Costa Gavras, in my opinion, as an artist, sensed that something's not wright about EU policy and he felt it was necessary to publicise it, so people can be aware of the situation and start concerning. Obviously Varoufakis' annoying characteristics are clear, however the existence of key facts can be observed and understood easily from a rational human being. More specifically, the hypocrisy of EU, Prime ministers' naivety along with his willingness to help, the phenomenon of uneducated Greek ministers which unfortunately is a crucial factor of Greece's politicians, and of course Varoufakis' critical thinking along with a strong common sense. Also, the detection of the truth from Christine Lagarde closely to her understanding of backing's needity, Wolfgang's egoistic, childish policy, showing of a person who demands to be in charge because of his Country's economic superiority, resistant to help, and lastly EU's clear abeyance to Germany. Dissatisfactory critics are not understandable for me, since every detail referred on this movie, has been previously reported, every fact is online and anyone with a natural way of thinking can observe the truthfulness of the evidences.

As far as the real events, i watched what I was expecting even me not having read Varoufakis's book. So almost nothing special here, no surprise. So, despite the "outsider's" role of Varoufakis, expected some more "insider's" information.

I liked the performance of almost all characters. They are totally in line with the actual person's image to the public, in a dramatic and brutal realistic way together. I would say it is Gavras style with a bit of Nikos Perakis'...

I liked the photography. Lighting and colors are top notch in bright and dark scenes. Especially the darks in Varoufakis' house or the semi-lighted scene when Varoufakis speeks to british bankers. Composition and perspective are also excellent. However, there was some lens distortion in the wide internal shots that could have been avoided. DOPs have managed this decades ago shooting film, so no excuse have them shooting digital nowadays, except it was a choice not a compromise, however i can see no reason for this in those particular shots.

As far as the screenplay and editing. Did not like it very much as a whole. Nice cuts, fluid scenes, but many important events are a bit squeezed at the end. Like the editor suddenly realised that he aproached the movie's time limit and had to exclude takes, or the producers suddenly run out of money. Maybe that is how Varoufakis book ends? Do not know, but it is a movie not a book and I believe great Costas Gabras could have done better here. Final documentary titles also seem to try and fill this gap, with no success in my opinion.

I know no other film that takes you behind the scenes of EU politics like this one. A must see if you are interested in European politics or if you are inclined to read the politics section of any serious newspaper.

First of all, I will start by mentioning the obvious: The negative reviews are by not-so-bright Greeks who can't review a movie for what it is, but for what it shows. The summer of 2015 was a pretty heated period in Greece, and many people have not forgiven the politicians involved.

About the movie. Don't expect a masterpiece. It is not. However it is a decent representation of Varoufakis's point of view, which on each own, is extremely interesting. Loulis's performance as Varoufakis is the strongest asset of this movie in my opinion. Bourdoumis was very good as well as Tsipras.

Photography was good. Editing was good. I found the sound editing irritating, like I do in most Greek movies (why is that? Any greek production sounds weird to me, like they can't keep steady the volume of the voices spoken).

7/10 from me.