L'ogre d'Athènes

Apparently, this film is considered one of the best in the history of Greek cinema; if you do watch it, you may find yourself scratching your head as to why. A good, Kafka-esque idea for a short story is blatantly padded out to feature length (at least half the running time seems to consist of nightclub acts), and is crudely directed; the excellent, moving performance of Dinos Iliopoulos feels like the one element where the praised received is justified. *1/2 out of 4.

This is the farce or the cothurnus about a timid man who was mistaken for the charismatic villain 'O drakos.' As soon as I hear cheerful music, it falls over suddenly. It has a good balance of tensions.

The most impressive thing was the effective use of the mirrors. It was hiding itself in the dressing room was filled with a lot of posters. I was sure that there were only posters like a mimicry at the first glance. It reminded me Pris from 'The Blade Runner.'

I saw that the direcor gave full play to his skills because of many technical shots like still life shots by the fixed camera and 'the pillow shot' of Yasujiro Ozu. I like old classic movies like this because I can find these trial and error.

People who live underground barely get by every day with the vague melancholy for the invisible future. I can't resist it! Some people dance emotionally, others hug each other. People scatter their mind off by making sure each other like that. I can see they were full of energy by the infinite sincerity of attitudes for their lives. That's why they need 'O drakos' as a heroic villain. So they seemed to affirm their existences positively by the hero-worship and having hope him.

This movie is a rare gem of the early black and white Greek cinema by the accomplished director Nikos Koundouros.

The story line is simple and portrays a peaceful office worker who falls victim of mistaken identity with all the ensuing trials and tribulations of this unfortunate error, both dramatic and comical. Ntinos Illiopoulos simply excels in the role.

Some have been very critical of this excellent movie possibly because they have watched it six or so decades after it was first screened, and subconsciously have tried to compare it with similar movies of later years. That is unfair. Judge it against movies of the same era, both Greek and other, and you'll soon realise its subtle qualities and the fact that it is still standing the test of time in a way that deserves respect and approval.

Watching "The Dragon" one can very well understand the reason why greek audiences took a dislike to it back in the fifties. The film was anything but the sobby dramas or the shallow comedies of the time. It was shocking, dark, daring, deeply political and heartbreaking. It held a mirror to the troubled greek society and naturally people were alarmed and confused by what they saw. But nowadays there is little doubt that Koundouros's melancholic satire defined greek cinema, by iniating fresh and more daring ways of film-making in Greece. Six and a half decades after its creation, the artistic and cultural value of the film remains intact.

What an amazing film. I must admit that I haven't seen many of the Great Greek films, but out of ones I have seen this is by far the best. The music is truly outstanding and adds more tension to the carefully shot scenes of the film. Eliopoulos is superb as the "Drakos". He gives the best performance I have seen from a Greek actor (havent seen many of the Horn movies though). Besides the very good story, which would stand fine on its own, there are some very political and allegoric messages allover the film which give an extra depth to the film. Also, some of the scenes are mesmerizing (ie the scene in the beginning of the film and at the end). I would definitely recommend this film to Greeks and foreign people as well.