The Taverna

The Taverna has a beautiful heart and soul that leaves on feeling like one is watching real life. The rawness and honesty portrayed through each of the characters and their interactions creates a realistic humanness that leaps off the screen. I laughed. I cried. I loved it.

Movies with ethnic characters are often full of stereotypes (eg, My Big Fat Greek Wedding). This movie has them, too. This movie also has plenty of gags, some kind of gross. But it is not an insipid movie at all. All the characters have some kind of back story and this takes it to another level. It is a great blend of humor and complexity. Most of the acting is very good and brings out the characters as realistic. Although all the ensemble is strong, the actor who plays the lead character of Kostas, the restaurant owner, stands out. He could be a caricature of himself but that is who his character is.

This is a highly entertaining comedy, based in the real pain of a number of the characters: Kosta (Vangelis Mourikis) works hard to keep his staff and customers happy, but also has problems with his son; belly-dancer Jamilla (Rachel Kamath) has money problems since her husband left, and refuses to dance when he turns up with his lover; Turkish cook Omer (Senol Mat) carries the pain of his dead wife and children, but is also upset about the possums on the roof; and so on with the other characters.

Add to this a couple of noisy drunks who arrive late into a sea of jealousy and resentment, and the amiable Kosta has his hands full keeping the peace.

Reminiscent of Fatih Akin's Soul Kitchen (about a couple of Greeks in Germany), much deeper than the Wog Boy films, and totally unlike My Big Fat Greek Wedding, this film looks at real people and their problems in today's multicultural Australia.

The acting was genuine and raw, the filming was direct and uncluttered, the script was full of heart and emotion. The whole movie was pure delight. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I really enjoyed this film. It was classic Aussie/Greek humour with a fabulous cast.