Spirtokouto

One of the greater films ever made in Greece.

A "hardcore snapshot" of Greek reality given by excellent performance from the actors.

The raw truth about the roles inside a typical family in modern Greece filmed by a unique way from Giannis Oikonomidis Dimitris,Maria,Kiki,Giorgos,Vagelis and Loukas could be our father, our mother our sister, brother or friend, our neighbour, or the the owner of the store at the corner, who always fighting with his family for no reason. And at the end everybody is happy and they continue there lives like there's nothing happened.

Spirtokouto is a really unique film, and takes guts and a great deal of patience to follow. The name, meaning matchbox, is probably meant to suggest the extreme temper of the head character. He actually reminds me a lot of my own father, so I believe the screenplay is fairly realistic. I think this movie is a really good try by the Greek director Giannis Ekonomidis, and it's a really interesting and different one. Everything's promising about it. Not exactly perfect, nothing like the masterpiece "Apo Tin Akri Tis Polis" which I think is the best Greek movie ever; but still pretty good and definitely watchable. I'm looking forward to seeing other movies featuring the cast and the director. Recommended! 7/10

I became interested in watching Spirtokouto after reading an interview with Yiannis Economidis. I was intrigued by his views on realism and on how films should, among other things, pull no punches when depicting the painfulness of dysfunctional families. In that respect, Spirtokouto is very much on the mark. However, I found the movie started grating on my nerves after about 30 minutes. As it progressed I felt like switching off my DVD, but I finally decided to give Economidis the benefit of the doubt. The movie does have some positive elements. Erricos Litsis (Dimitris) and Eleni Kokkidou (Maria) give very compelling performances and have all the venom you'd expect to see in a middle-aged couple trapped in their marriage. But, unfortunately, after a certain point the shouting and insults start appearing gratuitous. When the movie ended I heaved a sigh of relief, glad that it was over. Spirtokouto is not a good example of modern Greek cinema, despite the fact that Economids is capable of better things.

The actors performance is unmatched. The storyline emphasis is on inner family relationships. The priorities of the family members, the father figure that although means well, he is discredited due to his manners and short temper.

It has a lot to provide to the audience, and requires deep thought and understanding of the characters. The mother figure is shocking. The realism of the film is phenomenal and leaves with unanswered questions, it does not attempt give a clear solution nor an explanation, it just shows the conditions that sadly are more than common specially in west suburbs of Athens.

The verbal insults are emphasised and my personal opinion is that this is so because they shape the reality of the family life. Although in the family they show to be ignored, as in common language, they are copied by the children, and shape their characters.

The father figure focuses on his business and money, while gives a dictator attitude believing its the right way to raise the family as he feels everybody else is incompetent. This attitude is reflected by the indifference and hate of the family towards the father.

The directorhas managed to provide a modern time tragedy.

Features: The father with the archetypes of the 50's applied to modern society, monocrat, strong short-tempered. The role of the mother in shaping the character of the family.

The children who become identical to the parents they have rejected. Overall its a film that requires prior experience (I know I have) to understand the realism of the characters deeply and shows the interactions at multiple levels. Excellent work by Yiannis Economidis.

"Spirtokouto" -> Matchbox metafor of a "small house", if one match burns in the box, all of them are set on fire, burning the box too. (My personal metaphor translation)

Very rarely a film can capture the thin line between sanity and insanity in our daily lives. The director manages to detail the drama of a dysfunctional family without being overly dramatic, no good guys, no bad guys, just people on the verge of a nervous breakdown. His use of the anti-aesthetic works perfectly and adds to the built up of the storyline.

This is not a "Greek" movie. This family can be found anywhere where urban migration run amok. It could be south American, Mediterranean, or any other industrial country.

All in all a great film, not for everyone, but definitely worth watching!