To oneiro tou skylou

To oneiro tou skylou was the first Greek sci fiction movie. Maybe it doesn't have the special effects an Hollywood movie would have, but it is a big step for the Greek cinema. It' s a sci fiction, mystery movie which doesn't have a clear story, it's actually a series of some strange unexplainable events which take place in a big city (Athens) all connected. If you want to see a sci fiction movie with special effects and Martial arts fights or an action movie DON'T try this one, but if you like Greek cinema and you want to see a Greek movie that is actually worth seeing then I suggest to see this, because my friend there isn't going to be an other one like this for a really long time.

Science fiction? Certainly not! Fantasy? Not quite... I wouldn't care about any labelisation, if they weren't misleading.... It's quite common for the Greek film-goer to give a Greek film the "Greek-film-treatment", that is to say: "It's quite good, for a Greek film". I too have felt that way some times. But this is just because Greek films in general suck. It would be great for a Greek film to stand alone as a great original film, like "Vasilias" or Nikolaidis films for example. Anyway, on to the film...

Yes, this is pretty original for a Greek movie. The reference/ comparison to David Lynch is almost spontaneous. The film is full of stylish, filter-edited, colourful 'mystery' scenes, and among them are some genuinely funny and/or inspired ideas & stuff - yet, most of the material fails to present something really original.

I don't regard this necessarily as a unoriginal wanna-be "Mulholand drive" clone, but I can easily see how many fans of subversive cinema would bash the film for that. The film DOES have wit & freshness, but whatever it is, it is somewhat buried between the lack of substance (note: it's not just lack of plot, with which I have no problem), slow pace and the constant mysterious, overwhelming soundtrack, even when nothing really strange takes place .... Also note that it is a nice soundtrack...

I liked the film. If I am stricter than usual (I usually write only positive reviews of older unknown stuff) , it's because it's a Greek film from a promising director. I haven't yet seen Fratzis "Polaroid" (2000), but I saw potential in him. Maybe if he worked with better material?