Knock Out

This is one of the hidden jewels in the history of the -generally neglected- Greek Cinema. The superb Giorgios Kimoulis is an actor -in the film- with suicidal tendencies. Every time his tries to kill himself he is saved at the last minute by his best friend (Kostas Arzoglou in his best screen appearance). After a meeting with a mysterious person (Tassos Xinas) he receives a letter from a company that 'relieves desperate people from the pain', its service is to help people who cannot commit suicide and kill them for their own sake! He's afraid and slowly begins to understand through his fear of dying that it was the fear of living that made him want to kill himself.

Great performances, great soundtrack(some songs are written by Greek rock legend Pavlos Sidiropoulos) and tense directing. It's not entirely drama, it's more like a sour comedy. It is unlikely that viewers outside Greece will ever see this great movie.

...So I'll tell you -I wasn't there, but I've read about it. Well, there was a huge quarrel, for this movie received the best-movie-award, and many, well... disagreed. "What you're suggesting is death!", was shouted to the director, Y. Tassios, who answered in a great amount of insults towards the other directors. Lead actor, G. Kimoulis, had to take him out vulgarly, in order to avoid further unpleasant events.

So, what is going on with this movie? Firstly, I'd like to state that it's one of my favorite Greek movies of the 80s -it's a draw with the excellent "Oi Apenantoi", by G. Panoussopoulos. The plot is very interesting and the performances are really amazing -arguably, Kimoulis and Arzoglou are two of the best actors of their generation. Kimoulis stars as a neurotic man who is afraid of life, because he is very insecure himself. One day, he receives a phone call. It's from a company that offers to kill him, since he doesn't have the courage to kill himself! Kimoulis is frightened to death. By each steps he's taking, he is afraid of someone killing him. At the end of the film, he gets a job in a restaurant. He has regained his love for life.

"Where's the problem?", you'll ask. Well, you have to be transferred back to the 80s: It's the decade of communism in Greece. Pure communists and anarchists are at their peak, people who deny any form of power, that is. According to them, this movie proposes a solution that equals to social death: Find a job and bow your heads to the supreme power. Back in the 80s, every single expression of art was controlled bu the left-oriented people, even the Thessaloniki movie festival. I hope you have a clear view of the whole situation now.

Anyway. Politics and art don't go together. Watch the movie without thinking of politics. This movie is worth-seeing.