Chevalier

This film has the six men on a diving and fishing trip in the Greek islands (accompanied by three, later two, staff on the boat) getting into a competition game about finding out who is the "best in general" among them. While they do some specific competitions, in principle all their behavior down to the tiniest detail is up for rating by the others. We see them taking notes about each other all the time, and most conversations somehow circle around their game; but because the game involves everything, whatever they talk about is by definition part of the game. Besides the interactions and communication, we get some very well done cinematography both of the wonderful setting and the men and their boat that at times can be read as comment on what goes on between them.

The idea of the film is original and fascinating, and the comedy and more serious aspects here work very well together. This is one of the films where humour comes from precise observation of the characteristics and psychology of the protagonists, their conflicts, and from realizing how ridiculous human interaction can be, while at the same time trying to be credible and even deep (different viewers may have different ideas about how realistic and credible all this is but my life experience doesn't make it seem all too outlandish; certainly the temptation of rating and competition on just about anything is very familiar to me).

The film can make you think about competition, masculinity, the obsession of the postmodern society with quantification and rating and its impact, what "criteria" one can think of to rate a person, the role of sexuality, how different protagonists take different aspects of the game seriously, how hard it is to stay outside when things become really tense, and the meaning of the impact the game has on the boat staff.

My quibble with the realism of all this is probably that irony and sarcasm are largely left to the director and the audience but are in critically short supply among the protagonists (which is a problem in many films; from the distance of a director's chair it seems to be very difficult to imagine how people are at times able to observe an ironical distance from themselves). I can in fact easily imagine things to become as tense as they do in the film, but I'd expect the men to at least attempt/pretend to take things in a more light and bantery manner while they get there; although there's obviously a comic effect for the audience in their seriousness.

Apart from this I was fine with the acting, and I had certainly enough to laugh, given that the film has plenty of qualities apart from humour. This is a pretty good and (as far as I know) unique film and I recommend it to everyone who likes the combination of wit, psychology and food for thought that we get here.

This is my first review and already I find myself dithering about whether I should rate this 8 or 9, I say 8.5 rounded up.

Chevalier is the tale of six men on a fishing trip who decide to begin a competition to determine who among them is "the best in general". What begins as a harmless game begins to get to each character in different ways as they start worrying about their own faults as well as others'.

What struck me most about this movie is how they managed to balance the surreal humour (similar to The Lobster and Dogtooth also co-written by Efthymis Filippou) with a more realistic vibe. What really works is how you actually sort of understand how things could escalate in such a ridiculous way as soon as the ego is brought into it, and you believe in the characters as real people with real motivations.

It also appears to have a warm heart beating under the surface, with several touching moments between the companions and a great sense of camaraderie, despite the fact that they're all desperate to win.

I watched this film in a small cinema with around 50 other people packed in, and throughout the film was none stop laughter.

Part surreal buddy comedy, part satire of the human condition, well worth checking out.

While I appreciated "Attenberg" - which was the somewhat complementary study of women behaviour as "Chevalier" does for men - this film left me wondering.

Entertaining it wasn't and even at 1,5x speed it felt like a slow chore to get to the end. A reviewer suggested this might be how women see men, and that might explain why I didn't enjoy watching it, nor understood its purpose.

It's therefore simply my male fault. Furthermore I may find women more interesting than men and honestly IRL I would have immediately avoided these men as soon as I got their attitudes figured out (making me the true best one? ^^). Attitudes which are an inconsistent mess of illusionary beliefs, kindergarten competitiveness and theatrical exibitionism while searching for examples, allies and subjects, bestowing piety for the weak and no mercy for the adversaries.

Are women really that different? I'm not sure; still the writer-director here thinks so and focuses on this side of maledom.

An opinable, well produced ethological "study" but not really my idea of a good movie.

The so called "Greek Weird Wave" returns with another entry, this time a comedy directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari (best known for ''Attenberg"). The co-writer of "Dogtooth" and "The Lobster" Filippou assists her efforts to make an unconventionally funny and somewhat disturbing comedy. As the jury in London Film Festival (Best Film award for the movie there) stated "Chevalier is a study of male antagonism seen through the eyes of a brave and original filmmaker. With great formal rigour and irresistible wit, Athina Rachel Tsangari has managed to make a film that is both a hilarious comedy and a deeply disturbing statement on the condition of western humanity". Well, that's accurate but the formal rigour in all (post)modern Greek movies is getting a bit tiring and the movie is a funny comedy but not really a hilarious one. Yet the film is probably a bit better that George Lanthimos' uneven last entry "The Lobster". So if you are a Greek Weird Wave fan you should check it out and a few good laughs are guaranteed.

Grade: B-

The idea for the Greek film, "Chevalier", is a good one. After all, seeing a bunch of middle-aged men compulse about their masculinity can be rather funny. I should know, as I am also middle-aged and I know my wife and her friends laugh about me all the time! However, while this film is apparently a comedy, I never found myself laughing and I kept expecting more than it delivered. It's a shame, as the acting is quite nice.

A group of six successful Greek men are taking a deluxe cruise together. They scuba dive, ride about on Waverunners, eat incredible meals and indulge themselves. However, after a few days, a weird competitiveness comes out...possibly the result of boredom and their own inner insecurities. This is odd, as it should be the trip of their lives. Soon, one of them proposes a strange game where they would compete in a variety of odd and rather mundane ways...during which time they'll grade each other to determine who is the best. And, the best will receive a ring called 'the Chavalier' so that he can lord their superiority over the rest of them. Naturally, this brings out the hyper-competitiveness in them and soon they're doing some pretty stupid things to prove who's best.

It all sounds like a recipe for hilarity and insight into the male psyche. Yet, surprisingly, I found the movie was so low-key and slow paced that I found myself struggling to stay awake and interested. But as I mentioned, despite a disappointing script, I was thrilled with the acting as it seemed so natural...like real guys on a trip instead of just a bunch of actors pretending. The bottom line is that the film is well made...just not all that satisfying.