The basic building block of Yorgos Lanthimos’s third feature (like his previous work) is absurd, black humor. But here the stylization of Dogtooth is replaced with a much more realistic look. Nevertheless, the director maintains a certain distance from the plot action and the characters, while at the same time his film evokes anxiety in the viewer and prompts questions that are left unanswered.
Prospective members of the Alps group are presented with a list of rules. Rule number 1: when filling out the forms they must state in advance the things they are unwilling to do (e.g. kissing, lifting weights, traveling, etc.). Rule number 2: when filling out the forms they must state in advance the things they have a talent for (e.g. dancing, waterskiing, discussing, etc.). Rule number 3: they must have a basic knowledge of psychology and sociology. All in all there are 15 such rules, invented by the leader of the Alps group, Mont Blanc, and each member who decides to join the group must abide by them. As in Dogtooth, Yorgos Lanthimos’s third feature relies on absurd and black humor as fundamental building blocks, while the director once again plunges into the world of dependence, emotional loss, and favoritism. Dogtooth’s stylization is here exchanged for a much more realistic and authentic look. Nevertheless, the director maintains a certain distance from the plot action and the characters, while, at the same time, his film evokes anxiety in the viewer and prompts questions that are left unanswered.
93 min / Color, 35 mm
Director Yorgos Lanthimos
/ Screenplay Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou
/ Dir. of Photography Christos Voudouris
/ Editor Yorgos Mavropsaridis
/ Producer Athina Rachel Tsangari, Yorgos Lanthimos
/ Production Haos Film Production
/ Cast Aggeliki Papoulia, Aris Servetalis, Johnny Vekris, Ariane Labed
/ Contact The Match Factory
Yorgos Lanthimos (b. 1973, Athens) graduated in film and television direction from Stavrakos Film and TV School in Athens. Since 1995 he has been shooting shorts (Uranisco Disco, 2001) and features while directing for the theater and making music videos and TV commercials. He was also a member of the team which co-organized the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. His first feature, Kinetta (2005), premiered at the Toronto IFF in the Discovery section. His second feature Dogtooth won the main prize of the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes in 2009 and was screened last year at Karlovy Vary in its focus on Young Greek Cinema. The movie also took best picture and direction in 2010 from the Greek Film Academy. His latest feature, Alps, premiered at Venice in 2011, and received a prize for Best script.
The Match Factory
Domstrasse 60, 50668, Cologne
Germany
Phone: +49 221 539 7090
E-mail: [email protected]
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