Afti i nyhta menei

This movie is a fascinating portrayal of the "rembetika" clubs in the countryside of Greece. One of the best movies to come out of Greece in recent years, it showcases the dark side of life in some small, isolated towns during the harsh winter months. The soulful music, written by Stamatis Kraounakis, one of Greece's foremost artists, is another reason the movie is so good.

Afti I Nihta Meni is about the perennial pursue of our dreams and the imminent failure we are facing while on the road. The scenario is promising but the implementation fails. Sophomoric directing, unbelievable dialogues, lack of interaction and the artificially staged scenes estrange the audience. The poor sound quality doesn't help at all making this film realistic. The best part of it is that it jumps on the Thrace-is-cool bandwagon (a trend that was started by Ola Ine Dromos), showing us great landscapes and scenery. For you non-Greeks, Thrace is at the crossroads of East and West, bordering Bulgaria and Turkey. It is the most underdeveloped but perhaps also the most beautiful region of Greece. It definitely makes great cinema to present natural beauty along with poverty. The even better part is that it follows the provincial "dog clubs" depiction of Ola Ine Dromos, one of the most prominent expressions of decadence, now raised to cult status by urban Greeks. Athina Maximou is a visual pleasure, while Dimitra Pappiou (Athina's vocal replacement) tries desperately to be upgraded from the dog singer she actually is to a "serious" singer. About Stamatis Kraounakis and his "worship me" mentality, just a line from the film: Stella is asked about her repertoire and she answers that it is the late Manos Hadjidakis (a music icon in Greece) and ... Kraounakis! Now that's what I call modesty. Single-handedly the most annoying line in the whole movie.

By the greek standards of film making at the 90's this is one of the best and most complete artistic works of the decade. The photography of Haris Stavrou is captivating, the soundtrack by Stamatis Kraounakis and the songs singed by Dimitra Papiou was a big hit at the time. The portraying of the 'skyladika' which were and still are, the so called greek night clubs with live music its fantastic and realistic. But the center of the movie its the heartbreaking love between the two leading actors Maximoy and Kouris, which have great chemistry.

Nice movie different, Nikos Kouris quite as good as Maximu I liked and Markopoulos who in many places said things about life.

I must admit that this film is one of the few or I might dare to say, the only Greek film which depicts in the most reliable way the harsh life at the night clubs of the Greek provinces. The movie presents some of the most crucial problems of our century such as easy and quick wealth, prostitution and the influx of immigrants. It focuses on the concerns of the young people of our time who feel hopeless and more alienated than ever before. Even though it is quite simple in its script it achieves to raise the interest of the viewer and even amuse him. The film is utterly realistic in every aspect and the performance of Nikos Kouris is absolutely stunning and thrilling. In addition the two leading actresses, Athena Maximou and Zoe Nalbanti having won the first and second acting awards respectively manage to give the viewer a sense of authenticity. Moreover the incredible soundtrack of the film with the song of the title by Stamatis Kraounakis makes it a movie to remember. The song itself has been a great hit among audiences with the amazing performance of Dimitra Papiou.All I all, I would say it has rightfully earned a place in the film industry.