To mikro psari

This is a contemporary film noir. A bleak, harsh look at a society in deep crisis not only of an economic nature but a crisis of moral values as well, where people have lost their moral compass and literally everything is for sale.

It's language is really harsh and this serves the story well because on the one hand it has to do with the mob and on the other hand it signifies the lack of any hope of the main character escaping from the path of the existential annihilation that naturally follows in the end.

People who don't appreciate or understand this realistic depiction of the way the mobsters talk in this movie are the same people who never appreciated the message of movies like Natural Born Killers and thus decided to exhaust their criticism talking about the violence and swearing. No, Ekonomides is not Oliver Stone by any means, but still he's one of the most promising Greek directors right now along with Voulgaris.

This movie is not from the faint hearted. It's a black, unforgiving stare into the abyss. And when you look into the abyss, the abyss looks right back at you!

N.

It is generally a well-made film with an interesting plot, very good directing, and excellent acting by every one of its actors, even those playing minor characters. The strikingly empty, unpopulated spaces that predominate throughout the film seem to reflect well the inner emptiness and lack of feelings of the characters, and they are in contrast with the colourful, noisy scene towards the end, which I perceived as reflecting the fact that the last act of the protagonist was the only one driven by his emotions. On the negative side, I found that some repetitions were unnecessary and made me a little bored halfway through the film. In the last 45 minutes, however, the narration flows swiftly again and, by the end, my full interest was back again. Overall, the story is that of violence and crime that does not make you leaving the theatre with a grin on your face, but the more you think of it afterwards the more you like it. Certainly worth seeing.

"The Small Fish" (aka "Stratos") is an intense and dramatic portrait of contemporary Greece, seen through the eyes of Stratos, a contract killer who works during the day in a bakery, where he silently and passively witnesses the exploitation of workers. His life acquires another meaning when he is behind his car wheel, with a gun in his pocket and a mission to accomplish. But do not think that the movie is executed in correspondence with the dramatic intensity of his criminal life. Not that "The Small Fish" is a bland film either. The point is that director Yannis Economides opted to tell the story from the other side of Stratos' personality. It is really a problem for Stratos, that he has a very soft heart: he is giving all his money to Yorgos, the brother of a guy called Leonidas, who once saved his life, so that Yorgos can execute a plan to free Leonidas from a maximum security prison; and Stratos also sees after a family that lives across his apartment building, that includes a dying grandfather, a little daughter, a disabled father and a very young prostitute mother -who in fact could be the little girl's sister too, but who knows... everything about Stratos' concerns is dark or faint, while those who surround him are screaming, bullying or abusing everybody, including him, of course. He has a violent past and after many years in jail two mob factions want his services. This is just an idea of the main plot elements but there are more that complicate the proceedings, and it takes 133 minutes to reach a fine resolution. Without pointing out the national crisis, unemployment, breaking of moral codes, or unethical actions, "The Small Fish" gives a rich panorama of what a great empire as Greece has become in the 21st century, which should also serve as a warning to the empire of the day and its citizens. And yes, the Greek title "To mikro sari" (that is, the small fish) refers to the popular saying, "Big fish eat small fish".

I saw it last night with my wife, so it still plays in my mind.From the technical side it is completely professional.The sound quality amazing.The synchronism and the tremendous clarity of it creates an unusual impression of space where the viewer is absorbed until the last ,righteous moment. The story follows the laws of classic noir narration. So, though the protagonist is a payed killer, a certain ethic guides the story. The action is dense and not always foreseeable. All actors play naturally and very well.

An unusually good film for the Greek standards until now, not a film for the whole family because of some strong language , but certainly a film I highly recommend .

It's dark, full of verbal and physical violence, but down under all those things, there's nothing less than the perfect portrait of a damned person. A person whom one action defined his whole life, a person who found and lost his purpose, an empty person, but still, a person gracefully showing a last act of humanity, before leaving.

Around him, the dark world of crime, a parallel universe that lives side by side with our "normal" one. A universe that is very different to leave, a universe with unspoken laws that bend or break depending on the situation.

Great film, great leading actor, very sharp and intense directing when required. Must see.