2 reviews
Interesting biography of a famous Greek poet from 1910 to 1947 who was a sort of Greek Oscar Wilde. The central character is very effete and the film is told in a style reflective of his personality, with long, static takes. It is well-made, and well-performed, but the sterility of it's style is ultimately off-putting. And, while the central character is a homosexual, it is made to seem as though he never even had sex with any of his many lovers. There is no nudity, no sex, no violence and no offensive language. In fact, if I had the job of rating these films, I would have given this a 'PG' only because of the central character's drug use.
I suppose we're grateful to WaterBearer films for making this odd film available to us. It would seem to have been originally shot in a wide screen format as there's a considerable amount of pan and scan. The subtitles are minimal. I have no Greek but those in French aren't entirely accurate nor complete. The film is episodic and only one of the segment's title is given an English subtitle. The credits are also in Greek and less than instructive. I feel the picture could have been more meaningful had we had a better grasp on what was happening. The repetitive reference to Wilde and Douglas reinforces the comments of my predecessor. The one really explicit pick-up sequence early on in the film ends outside the street person's curtained window and we have no silhouette nor even the extinguishing of a light within -- so who knows whether pour Napoleon ever had a satisfactory sexual experience. Still some fascinating performances. It did, however, leave one feeling cheated of a complete story.