An...

In his "Notebooks", the famous conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler doesn't make much effort to conceal his dislike for Art critics. He likens the creator of Art with Faust and the critic with Mephistopheles, saying about the latter that, whatever is born of love, he considers worthy of extinction! He also notes that the main concern of the critic is to identify the "errors" in the work of Art, often failing to recognize the greatness of a true masterpiece.

Furtwängler's remarks came to my mind while observing the anxious efforts by movie critics to discover and point out the "errors" in "An...", the first feature film by Greek director Christoforos Papakaliatis (Greece, 2012). I must confess that I myself entered the theater with reservations. Would this prove to be just another cinematic experiment from one more director of television shows who fails to see the difference between the two-dimensional flat space of TV and the much more complex space-time of the cinema?

The result of the "experiment" was a pleasant surprise! We saw an authentic cinematic creation, skillfully directed and possessing a brilliantly self-consistent (albeit not entirely original) script worked well in the details. With regard to the central idea of the film, the influence from the now classic "Sliding Doors" (1998) is more than evident. Like the latter film, "An..." is a cinematic allegory on the "butterfly effect", that is, how a seemingly insignificant detail may dramatically change the order of things and the fate of people. We thus watch two alternative versions of reality evolve in parallel in time by means of two different dominoes of causality.

One basic theme is romantic relationships and their test against deterioration caused by the everyday routine in a typical marriage. Reference is made, of course, to the current economic crisis, this being one of the catalytic factors affecting relationships. Eventually, the film leaves it upon the viewer to decide which version of reality suits best to her/him, hinting, however, at the more optimistic choice (remember "Sliding Doors"!).

We left the theater with feelings of internal catharsis that any true work of Art must induce. Leaving behind for good the painful memories from the merciless (albeit directorially brilliant) "Amour" that plainly shows brutal reality without the much-needed psychological balance offered by the potentially alternative...

Being a Greek myself i must say i'm pretty disappointed by Greece's efforts towards the seventh art the last couple of decades. Unfortunately Greece's golden age, in my opinion, stopped at late 70's to early 80's. However this, i must say, is a sparkle in the mud of the industry. Christoforos Papakaliatis being a director, writer and leading actor did a fine job being all three of them. He conducted a modern movie touching sensitive matters in Greece nowadays, like unemployment does, mixing them with the never aging love cliché. What matters in the end are the emotions you have leaving the movie, and those were strong.

a beautiful film. that is its fundamental virtue. and the motif for ignore the few errors. image, montage, music, story, the explore of different universes, the manner to create the lead characters, the splendid science to transform a not complicated story in a lovely film. a film with many references to contemporary problems and , in same measure, delicate analysis of a couple life in two interesting art of detail. a film about life, choices, happiness and Greece. the last thing, in strange way, does its message universal. but its beauty is not only artistic. it has the rare gift to become a form of experience. because it reminds small details from every viewer 's life. and that detail does it convincing at all.

But the movie is still slow, but not necessarily boring.

What does fate hold for you ... well you find out one idea through this story. Same guy ... two different decisions. One decision causes him to suffer loneliness and pain but he finds a reward at the end. The other decision causes him to find a reward at the start but eventually causes him to suffer pain, conflict, and loneliness.

So what does this say about fate? Absolutely nothing ... in my view. Either way whatever decision you make the result is the same - you just don't know in what order you will experience it.

So la-te-da!

"What If" is a parallel drama romance movie in which we watch a man who at a certain moment of his life he has to choose a path that will change his life forever. He has a female German Shepherd that wants to be taken out one night. The choice is very simple, if he goes out that night he will meet the love of his life and if he stays in he will not meet her.

I liked this movie because it's a good greek movie that despite the low budget and the difficulties, Christopher Papakaliatis succeed in presenting a simple good movie. At this point, it has to be mentioned that the plot we have already seen it in the movie "Sliding Doors" with Gwyneth Paltrow so, it was not a surprise. I liked the interpretations of Marina Kalogirou who played Hristina and Christopher Papakaliatis who played Dimitris. The direction which was made also from Christopher Papakaliatis it can be considered very good if we compare it with other greek movies.

Finally, I have to say that "What If" is an average movie with no many surprises and also a medium plot. It's not something extraordinary or something that we haven't seen before, it has a simple plot with some good interpretations and an average written script. If you want to watch this movie just don't expect much from it and don't have high expectations or hopes because for the greek standards is considered a good movie but in general is just another greek average movie.