Suntan

I was not preparing for something serious after the first 10-15 minutes of the film; after which my wife left the room, offended by the nudity. We are both Greek-born and were used to the old ways, though we were quite aware of what modernism has brought to Greek beaches. But the movie was not about nudity. It was the drama of a middle-aged man who had not tasted the joys of life, being glum and relatively ordinary. But a young Aphrodite partying with her friends caught his attention. The movie relentlessly follows his obsession, and if Nabokov invented Lolita, this story gets more intense. I would say the Greeks have learned something about tragedy. I was dazzled by the excellent photography and the gorgeous Greek island. Not an absolute masterpiece but close to one.

First, sorry for my poor English.

This is one of the most… real movies I have ever seen, the acting is awesome, it's so good that I don't know if the actors are not just ordinary guys and girls been themselves.

They say the perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add but when there is nothing else to remove, and I think this movie is all about that, straight and honest like life, nothing redundant. The one thing that can be improved is the soundtrack, something more like Chambao would be great but overall good job even on this matter.

If you ever been in love and ever been heartbroken… if you ever been alive you'll love that movie, really love it, you'll hate it and love it at the same time.

Argyris Papadimitropoulos' film 'Suntan' tells an unfortunately familliar and painful story: someone flirts, whether for good or bad reasons, with a lonely person; and that person responds with undue seriousness. The film's problems lies less in the fact that it's not exactly cheerful, but more in the fact that it's not really convincing. The central character is a doctor, but his personal decorum is quite unlike that of any doctor I've ever known; quite why a girl takes even a passing interest in him is unclear; and how he can deceive himself that things are ever going well as he tries to integrate into her crowd is also unclear. It's not that humans aren't capable of telling themselves stories, particularly where sex is concerned, but a story needs a seed, and this one seems to grow out of nothing. The resulting tregedy is thus not just painful to watch, but also a little bizarre.

This film is not a nudist film, nor will the nudist culture embrace it because of it's dark turn in the last act.

But it's exactly what a nudist film needs to be. Honest, unflinching, raw. This is an examination of what every American Nudist goes through. (to use the title of a failed film I was forced to make).

We middle-aged nudists have to come to terms with millennials calling themselves Young Naturists, who are rewriting the rules of nudist etiquette. And while they thrive, embracing the "new hedonism" which actually is pretty mild, and naturally, beautiful realized in this film, older nude beach goers like our hero Kostis feel like a relic, who no longer fit in with the younger crowd no matter how hard they try to hang on to romantic notions of love.

Kostis, a pathetic romantic fool, ends up like every unattractive romantic fool, neglecting his professional duties and spiraling downward in some misguided attempt to recapture something he never had.

And it can only end tragically. Because ultimately, romance is selfish. Romantics are self absorbed egomaniacs who are unable to see the world as it truly is. And romantic naturists are the worst offenders.

That being said, there are some weaker moments, Some scenes are repetitive and the fight choreography was awful. I was hoping it'd be even more violent, but that's my American attitude showing.

Overall, I highly recommend this film because it's the direction that any indie filmmaker interested in using nudity in their art should go. It's bold, daring and immediately relevant to our lifestyle.

I saw this movie at its premiere, at Rotterdam International Film Festival 2016. The plot is a really simple story of a disappointed 40-something year old man, Kostis (Makis Papadimitriou, "Chevalier"), who, while working as a doctor in Antiparos island, falls passionately in love with a young Anna (Elli Trigkou). The movie is set in the beautiful, yet crazy scenery of Antiparos, and it portrays its atmosphere and hedonistic frenzy in a vivid and realistic way. The drunkenness of summer and the liberal power of youth, as captured by the lens of Argyris Papadimitropoulos ("Wasted Youth"), are constantly being collated with the awkward phase of the middle aged body and the protagonist's useless struggle of overlooking it. The photography and visuals of the movie are stunning. Each frame is carefully set in a way that the characters inner selves are revealed through nature. The documentary-like feel of some of them serves as a catalyst in enclosing the atmosphere of the place through the unfolding of the plot. The body, and the ways we perceive it are also part of the plot, so be prepared for a lot of nudism and strong language. Makis Papadimitriou seems to be the best choice of portraying the disappointed, dissatisfied man who falls victim of his own passions. His performance is excellent, realistic and never over the top. Elli Trigkou is also convincing as Anna, and the rest of the cast seems to be carefully chosen. All in all, this movie is the vivid and painful hymn of the coming of middle age. A must see.