Apo tin akri tis polis

Part Greek, part American pop culture, part Russian, part Basketball Diaries, part Fassbinder, part pity the poor prostitute.

If it were not so incoherent (or is it deliberately so?) there is much to be admired here. This is a classy film in many ways, not the least of which is how it zeroes in on urban teen disorientation in the midst of contemporary Western affluence, combining a sharp contrast between rustic origins of an immigrant underclass and trendy cosmopolitan lifestyles. And the main characters are as compelling as those of a big budget film, in no way suggesting their non-professional origins. There is likewise an unrelenting effort to reflect the way these kids actually talk to each other and think.

But it bites off way too much in trying to include something for everyone in its audience. A little coke snorting here, a little skin there, some inchoate gayness along the way, some obvious symbolism, even a taking-a-girl-home-to-meet-the-folks number (that backfires predictably). The overall effect is close to that of a television documentary rather than a dramatic story line. Something may be lost by relying on English subtitles, but for anyone unfamiliar with Russian or Greek there is no option.

Worth a look.

This is my second or third Greek movie I guess, so I have no idea if this is the best one ever, but it is a very good one to say the least. I did not really want to see this one because I was not in the mood for a depressing hustler story or a foreign gaythemed drama, but that's not really what this movie is about. I would rather call it a lost generation movie with a lot of attention to immigration problems and drug abuse. I urge the main lead to learn English (or French) and try it abroad, because he has talent. the rest of the cast wasn't that good. Check it out if you get the chance, it's really not a gayhustler movie as the people might want you to believe

"Buff and barely eighteen, Sasha lives with his mother and father in a Kazakhstan immigrant settlement on the outskirts of Athens. At night, he and his teenaged friends rollerblade through the city, where they hang out in brothels and work as male prostitutes. Every day they endure an obstacle course of johns, drug dealers, pimps and gangsters, as they try desperately to survive in a country that is not their own," according to the DVD sleeve summary. The cover notes this film, re-titled "From the Edge of the City" for English language viewers, was the "Official 'Academy Awards' entry from Greece" in the foreign film category. Understandably unrevealed is the fact that it was not, finally, nominated. It did well on the film festival circuit, however.

The film is artfully done, by writer/director Constantine Giannaris, with shaky camera shots, documentary-style interruptions, and bisexual subject matter. Star protagonist Stathis Papadopoulos (as Rosso "Sasha" Pond) handles the acting assignment very well, but he isn't given a character with much focus. After five years of tricking and drugs, one tends to spend a few minutes looking a little ragged, but Mr. Papadopoulos is always fresh-faced and perfectly toned. His chiseled chest is prominently displayed, but he reveals little explicit. The parents look ragged, though. Possibly, the key is that young "Sasha" never totally lived the street life, but just dabbled there to pal around for a quick buzz, sex, and cash. He keeps his nose clean, too.

****** Apo tin akri tis polis (11/20/98) Constantine Giannaris ~ Stathis Papadopoulos, Theodora Tzimou, Dimitris Papoulidis, Panayiotis Hartomatzidis

If you see one contemporary Greek film, make it this one. Giannaris shows great promise as a director - raw, yet sensitive, and original. The film looks at the lives of young immigrants boys from the former Soviet Union caught between the work-hard ethic of their parents and the seductiveness of the modern, consumer-driven world. These kids live on the edge and Giannaris's film has an appropriately edgy feeling. Young, these boys feel invincible even though they live on society's margins where the trappings of a designer lifestyle seem to have more value than a human life. 'From the Edge of the City' delves deep into the seamier underbelly of modern society but with a special sensitivity that does its filmmaker and its subjects credit.

it seems to me that "from the edge of the city" is that type of film which is bound the audience to think.yeah,the movie is complex to understand but i admit that it is really a brilliant movie.

the plot of the film concerns with those people who are Greek-Russians bound to leave their country for former soviet-union in Stalin era. after the demise of the soviet-union they came back to Athens and try to mix with the mainstream society.

the movie tells the story about those third generation young people,the Greek-Russian teenage who are trying to live in this Greek society.we know their way of living through an interview of one teenage named "sasha" who tells us how they use drugs, how they sell their body, their relatinons with their families and their views to the society.

this movie seems to one type of documentary movie about modern Greek tragedy.

it is definitely not a movie for all audience but i like that film.

i would like to rate this movie: 8 out of 10.