Alps

In Greece, a nurse, a paramedic, a gymnast and her coach form an underground group known as Alps. The goal of Alps is to help bereaved families through the mourning process by posing as the recently deceased. Run by the paramedic, the group visit elderly ladies, widowers and the like, keeping them company in the guise of the dead. After a young tennis player dies, the nurse takes up her role. Matters are complicated after she becomes obsessed; refusing to drop the act even after the grieving parents demand it. Meanwhile, the gymnast wants to dance to pop music, which her disciplinarian coach insists she isn't ready for. Will Alps prosper, or will the obsessiveness of the nurse lead to the groups' downfall?

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, 'Alps' is a movie both intriguing and frustrating. Lanthimos and co-writer Efthymis Filippou have come up with a genius conceit, which they then fail to explore as interestingly or as deeply as they could have. The narrative has surprisingly little emotional weight, constantly flirting around the edges of greatness but never quite making it. Scenes where the Alps members pose as the deceased initially have promise, but because Lanthimos and Filippou don't allow their characters to display any emotions; they ultimately have limited impact.

How can you create a meaningful film about grief when you don't allow any of your characters to grieve, or emote in any way? Additionally, there are numerous protracted silences in the film which- because of the aforementioned emotional frigidity of the characters- seem unnecessarily drawn out rather than intelligently introspective. Also, the sub-plot involving the gymnast and her coach, while entertaining, seems out of place in the grand scheme of things. It has no bearing on the main story; making one wonder whether or not it was included just to pad out the running time.

What was Lanthimos trying to say with 'Alps,' exactly? Some postulate the film may be an analogy about groupthink, while others claim it is some sort of capitalist cultural critique. The director himself has stated that "Alps is about a person who tries to enter a fabricated world," which doesn't really go a long way to explaining his intended meaning behind it. Ultimately, whatever message was at the core of 'Alps' is one so obscured by the confounding coldness of Lanthimos's approach that it's likely lost forever (on this viewer, anyway).

Having said that, there is a lot to praise about 'Alps.' Christos Voudouris's muted cinematography is attractive, lending to the proceedings a stark atmosphere that matches the narrative's dispassionate tone. His composition is frequently inspired, and some of his shots linger in the mind long after the credits have rolled. The story features much bizarre, dark humor that works well, and the cast are all great. Angeliki Papoulia and Johnny Vekris particularly impress as the nurse and the coach, respectively, turning in memorable performances despite Lanthimos and Filippou's scant characterization.

Yorgos Lanthimos's 'Alps' is a cold, calculated conundrum. As a complete package, it doesn't really work- though it contains scenes of power and moments of interest. Strikingly shot by Christos Voudouris, and routinely well-acted; it is not the creative and technical travesty some claim it to be. This is not to say it is a masterpiece either, for it is very far from that. Though Lanthimos has made much better films- 'Dogtooth' or 'The Lobster' come to mind- 'Alps' is certainly worth seeing; if only so you know you haven't missed the director's magnum opus.

It has a plot that is inspired, and delightfully surreal. But the execution of it is dreadful. The imagination does not run wild in Alps. Visual speaking, it is a huge letdown. Everyone in the film seems half dead, sleepwalking through the film. Grieving with death is a concept that only makes sense if it is dealt with accurately. Now, I know that Alps is a surrealist piece, but it just didn't resonate with me emotionally. It didn't hit me where it clearly wanted to.

A KVIFF screening, from the young and talented Greek director Giorgos Lanthimos, a follow-up of DOGTOOTH (2009), which was a dark horse nominee of Oscar's BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR and I haven't watched yet. But Giorgos' eerie approach of scrutinizing modern-day's communicative malaise has its overt justification in ALPS.

Absurd, genuinely designed, full of fits of laughters about the mimicking set pieces, the film presents itself in a more comprehensive elaboration than I expected, although initially, it takes some time to figure out the real occupation and motivation behind the self-dubbed "Alps"group (maybe Everest could be a more befitting name since its the highest mountain on the earth and its irreplaceability should be more cogent than Alps as long as height is concerned).

But the wacky "impersonating the deceased"groundwork is not potent enough to sustain the film into a genius employment, since the demanding of this type of service and its viability to perform its presumed obligation (to console the next-of-kins' grief) is a moot question here, and eventually a win-win condition has to yield to the conceptual willfulness (in the film it is the identity misconception, a spontaneously unsurprising aftermath). But performance-wise, leading actress Aggeliki Papoulia is a natural treasure, rendering the eccentric antics much more personal dedication (which also includes an equivocal default of the relationship between her and her father, another Alps' case or not?), I put her among my top 10 list of BEST LEADING ACTRESS line-up of 2011.

ALPS is a patchwork piece, nonetheless, Giorgos' one-of-a-kind singularity alone could be singled out as one of the most intriguing and cutting-edge film artist to bring some mondo gratification to cinema nerds.

Greek director Giorgos Lanthimos's second feature film "Alps" is just as thought provoking and bizarre as his Academy Award nominated debut "Dogtooth". He paints a very surreal picture that can be hard to understand, but somehow is still very engaging.

"Alps" is the name of a clandestine group of four people who offer a service to impersonate the recently deceased in order to help their clients through the grieving process. This group is comprised of a nurse, a rhythmic gymnast and her coach, and another man who is their leader. They are called the "Alps" because it is ambiguous and doesn't say what they do, as well as being irreplaceable. They meet in a gymnasium and don't go by their real names but are referred to by mountain peaks associated with the Alps. The leader is Mount Blanc, the Nurse and the stories main character is called Mount Rose.

The film is mainly focused on Mount Rose, played by Aggrelikki Papoulia who also starred in "Dogtooth" as the Eldest daughter. It is about the lost of identity and losing your connections to reality. Mount Rose is a nurse who lives with her elderly father, but also seems to be a playing the part of his late wife. She has several Alps clients and it is hard to find who the "real" Mount Rose is. The Gymnast and coach are another thing altogether, she is always in training and never seems to be ready. Mount Blanc is sort of a mystery. He is the quiet and stoic leader of the group who during a game of who would you most like to impersonate chooses Bruce Lee.

When Mount Rose breaks one of the rules of being an Alp she is cast out, this is where she loses her proverbial sh** and has a complete mental breakdown. Like trying to describe the meaning of a Salvador Dali painting, both "Alps" and "Dogtooth" just need to be experienced and usually more than once. Both movies are now available on Netflix watch Instantly.

Despite its premise doing a complete U-turn, Yorgos Lanthimos' Alps is a fitting companion piece to Dogtooth and presents the Greek filmmaker employing the same bizarre elements & narrative techniques that made his last film a weird & whacky oddity. And just like before, it is equally intriguing & frustrating.

Co-written & directed by Lanthimos, the concept is interesting but isn't realised to full potential, plus there are stretches of bland, repetitive moments that don't add much to the plot. Character interactions retain their peculiarity, and are delivered with blank expressions which cranks its quirky flavour. However, the ending isn't satisfying enough.

More a tragedy than an absurdist comedy, things do take a serious turn in the later half but these characters are so distant that we aren't invested in their predicament at any given time. Angeliki Papoulia stands out with an input that only gets crazier as plot progresses, and her breakdown scene is as disturbing as it is heartbreaking to watch from the sidelines.

Overall, Alps may not be a singularly bold & daring effort but it allows Lanthimos to further refine his filmmaking style, and carries his signature all over its frames. Not as impressive as his best works, the film lacks a sense of direction and is a tad too preoccupied with upping the eccentricity factor. Nevertheless, if you liked Dogtooth, then Alps is a definite recommendation.