folon2008-100-319305

Having watched the Dogtooth and Lobster, I realize to my disappointment that Lanthimos's choices on plots and their transfers on screen follow a downward spiral. It is a great waste of cinematographic and acting talent to spread misery and pain without an attempt to awaken people's minds towards noble thinking and way out of the purpose of the notorious but didactic nature of good old ancient greek tragedies. And in this case, borrowing and twisting the ancient myth regarding the original plot and purpose, once more proves to be a very dangerous undertaking that leads knowledgeable audience to inevitable comparisons almost surely to the loss of the borrower and people ignorant of the context in front of an uninterpreted mess (as I often hilariously found out by reading previous reviews of the film).

Stretching situations to the utmost ends may be a strong demonstrative tool for expressing views on bad reality but somehow, this has to drill down to the causes according to the creators' view. I was able to follow the line on Dogtooth and Lobster, easier in the first case, harder in the second but here, I really can not figure out an original and innovative view on causes. If that was not the purpose of the film, then it is just a plain useless, flat and twisted representation of the old myth. I recommend you to choose instead, films of Lars von Trier, even the Antichrist. In those films you can also delve into despair but at least with far more poetic ways.

Being myself an existentialist and often cynical on my views on humanity and people's behavior on situations beyond their abilities, I personally prefer Tarkovsky's God-seeking world or even Tsafoulias's recent work Eteros Ego (The other me) with its struggling characters and their attitudes as opposed to the ever film-by-film evolving deadlocked and suffocating Lanthimos's micro-cosmoses that teach us (with often needlessly graphic enstantanees) less and less.

A piece's of art impression is about provoking minds to think forward. In that sense this piece is a failure.

A very emotional and rewarding film for those who manage to overcome a number of (rather needlessly included) graphic sequences. Stunning prelude, constant pace, top theater-quality acting of the main protagonists, interesting info of academic nature and an intriguing plot that acts as a showcase for human attitudes against issues such as coping with tragedy and death loss, the origin and act of god, the nature of friendship, duty, justice, love, social responsibility and others. I believe that this is were the main quality of the film lays in the sense that it calls for your answers to the above dilemmas unfolding before your eyes.

By watching this movie, not only will you not have wasted your time but rather, I dare say, you will have invested it well. You will have experienced "psychagogia" a term that, in Greek, means to lead ones soul (mind if you prefer) through paths that elevate its quality.