A Moeda Falsa

I wouldn't call it a film. It actually is a masterpiece. Released in 1955, but still reflects how deceptive our modern society really is. Kalpiki Lira (The Counterfeit Coin) is the first modular movie ever made in Greece. It consists of 4 stories with one thing in common. The counterfeit coin itself. From the creation to its journey among numerous owners. Is the coin fake, or is material wealth itself?

The new year's Eve scene with the poor orphan girl and the old childless miser man in the third story is maybe the most touching scene in Greek cinema.

Orestis Makris awakens the viewers' hearts with his excellent dramatic performance. A few scenes earlier, his screen-wife had told him 'look at the lime-painter and his wife: they have no money, but they have Fanitsa, their little angel', a line that always brings tears in my eyes.A must-see movie, an all-star film that combines the top theater actors of the time with the then-emerging cinema stars of the following 20-30 years.A film shot in lovely settings of the old-time Athens.

This movie is a masterclass...It has a spellbinding narration, Maybe 'the red violin" was inspired by this movie.The Dialogues will have a mystical effect on you.A must watch!!

I kalpiki lira is a historical moment for Greek cinema, as it is the first instance of a modular movie, four stories in one, connected by a counterfeit coin. And this coin isn't the only fake thing the main characters invest in, as each of them commits a sin (Anargyros-lust, Beggar-sloth, Vasilis-greed, Pavlos-pride) and gets to face the consequences.

Apart from the intriguing storylines, the biggest strength of the movie is that it captures the essence of life in'50s Athens, especially the bittersweet realism, as drama, humour, romance all blend together and that's in no small part thanks to the excellent performances of the all-star cast.

I Kalpiki Lira is the greatest Greek film ever made. In other words, there is no other more complete Greek cinematic creation in the years that followed it and certainly there's not going to be another better in the years to come. The story takes us on a very weird journey. That of a counterfeit gold coin. It begins from the moment of its creation by a naive man (Vasilis Logothetidis) who, carried away by his passion and love for an unworthy woman (Ilia Livykou) decides to change his life and takes us through the streets and neighborhoods of Athens in the fifties with its everyday troubles and cares but also with its small moments of happiness, introducing us in the way to dozens of different people, from small girls to lovers who are struggling to survive (Dimitris Horn & Ellie Lambeti) and blind beggars (Mimis Fotopoulos in his most remembered role) ending in an unexpected way and filling us with the knowledge that nothing lasts forever. Only a poor counterfeit coin...