Der Sommer mit Carmen

This is an incredibly well-constructed movie, brimming with irony and following the tragic yet thought-provoking patterns reminiscent of ancient philosophers like Plato. The narrative subtly explores the complexities of human emotions, where the love between the main characters remains purely platonic, highlighting themes of connection beyond the physical.

A special mention goes to the dog, who delivered a surprisingly nuanced performance. Her presence is not just charming but integral to the plot, adding emotional depth and symbolizing loyalty and companionship in ways that enhance the storytelling.

The film's unique sense of humor stands out, masterfully blending subtle wit with a post-ironic visual narrative that keeps the audience engaged. This clever approach elevates the movie, offering layers of meaning that invite reflection long after the credits roll.

I give it an extra 100 out of 100 for its brilliance-both in its humor and innovative narrative structure. It's been over 100 minutes of pure cinematic delight, leaving me entertained and impressed in equal measure.

This Greek film subverts the love story by having gay partners working on the script of a film, extracts of which are cleverly interspersed with the action and sometimes amusingly contradicts it. I'd go so far as to say this is a real original. Even if I'm wrong, I believe I'm right in saying the film will lead to a major offer to director Zacharias Mavroeidis. He's made a few films before but nothing that's had potentially international appeal. This will be a particular joy for film fans, referencing Hollywood and British cinema. Pretentious or not, I knew from the first perfectly framed shot, on the rocks of the Athens coast, that Mavroeidis has talent. This was indeed the case. He draws excellent performances from his entire cast, notably charismatic star Yorgos Tsiantoulas. The film is also beautifully filmed around Athens and some of the footage on the coast is stunning. It includes a sequence in which the partners imagine turning their film into a musical, which is a delight. Zacharias and Yorgos were both at the British premiere at Flare last night, 15 March 2024, and told us great stuff about the Greek film industry (no agents, no intimacy co-ordinators), Carmen the dog, and Zacharias's hope that the film will be condemned by the Greek church. Yes, there's a lot of male nudity and that may be the main reason the screening was sold out. But the film is much more than exploitation: another critic has said that "existential philosophy has never been more playful than it is here" and he's dead right.

Our hero is Demosthenes (played by hunky Yorgos Tsiantoulas), who recently broke up with his partner Panos (Nikolaos Mihas) after a four-year relationship. His best friend is Nikitas (Andreas Labropoulos), a former actor who is now a director.

Sitting on a nude beach where gay cruising is the order of the day, Nikitas and Demosthenes try to come up with ideas for a script Nikitas has to present as his next film project. Demosthenes reflects on his own life as inspiration for the film.

As Demosthenes tells his story, the film jumps backwards and forward depicting the events. We learn quite a bit about each character in the process. Although Demosthenes broke up with Panos, we still notice hints of regret despite him trying to convince Nikitas otherwise. We also meet Demosthenes' mom, who looks after his sick father. And then there's the dog, Carmen, who changes everyone's lives.

Filled with gorgeous physiques and full frontal male nudity, there's plenty of eye candy to keep you drooling, depending on your inclinations, off course. Apart from that, I found the film very realistic. The drama and humour were well balanced and never over the top or sentimental. It was current and relatable. I also thought the actors were perfectly cast in their respective roles.

If you watch an heap of gay cinema, especially from South America, then this kind of story isn't really that novel. There are plenty where hunky heroes like "Demos" (Yorgos Tsiantoilas) has a best mate "Nikitas" (Andreas Labropoulos) - who is obviously quite keen on his pal who doesn't really reciprocate in the way he wants, and who takes advantage of the local nudist beach and fairly vibrant gay community to get naked for much of the film and get down to some furious jogging with "Thymios" (Vasilis Tsigristaris) whilst on the rebound from a four year relationship with "Panos" (Nikolaos Mihas) with whom he looks after their dog "Carmen". Still with me? Well what now ensues is a rather predicable plot wrapped within the concept that the first two characters are thinking of writing a movie about this emotionally charged scenario. Along the way, there is plenty of soul-searching as just about everyone has to deal with their demons and hopefully emerge the better person. There's a much more continental-style dose of casual shagging that might raise eyebrows amongst those more used to a more Anglicised take on sex with subtle cutaways and perfectly placed pot plants (though it's not quite "Theo and Hugo" (2016) either). It's really a film about finding yourself and seeing what's squarely in front of you, but by using the film-making arc to give the audience a degree of observational objectiveness, it rather made me feel like a prurient fly on a wall where I didn't always belong (or care). The acting is natural and adequate, it's beautifully shot and there are plenty of rousing arias to enliven it, but I'm afraid I found it just a bit over-complicated and unoriginal.

When Robert Rosson and Robert Parrish had way too much footage to work with editing the (eventual) Oscar-winning ALL THE KING'S MEN, they hit upon the idea of finding the central moment of each scene, then cutting out everything that wasn't 100 feet before or after that moment.

The creative team for this movie should have done something similar. There's way too much establishing and throat-clearing at the beginning of every scene, and way too much resolution and tying up loose ends at the finish of every scene.

When you add to this that the characters aren't developed so there's no one to care for, the movie becomes a big bore. I was disappointed. The only thing that kept me watching was the possibility of more on-screen nudity.