Brando with a Glass Eye

Brando with a Glass Eye is a sumptuous feast that satisfies all the sense. Whilst this is the first feature film from Tsonis, you wouldn't know it. It hits all the right notes. It is the same kind of joyful assault as a jump into crisp ocean water on a scorching hot day.

Luca (main character) yearns for a return to the Hollywood Golden Age. He dreams of moving to New York and walking in step with Brando. He has an opening, but life has other plans. We walk alongside Luca as he desperately tries to wrangle life to fit his dreams. Seemingly wild moments are brought back down to earth with the realisation that any one of us is only a few questionable decisions away from being in Luca's shoes. It is at once astounding and relatable.

Luca confronts the kind of inevitable hurdles thar face all of us in our pursuit of our dreams. His challenge is to alchemise this pain, and transform it into something beautiful. He doesn't always succeed. Yiannis Niarros (who plays Luca) ate and left no crumbs. He effortlessly serves main character energy.

Tsonis worked closely with composer Alexandros Livitsanos to craft an entirely original score that graces nearly all 122 minutes of the film. Composed in Melbourne and Europe the score was composed in Prague. It fuses symphonic and cinematic classical music, layered with jazz like trumpets. The music underscores the grandeur, emotional arcs and mythic scale of the narrative. It is a work of art in itself.

The temperature of Tsonis' direction runs hot. He gives enough direction to guide his actors and bring his vision to life, but permits enough freedom that they can pour themselves fully into each scene. It is a collaboration. The film is a resolute love letter to actors.

If this richness sounds intimidating, it isn't. Tsonis and (long time producer) Spanos do the heavy lifting for us. We can just sit back and enjoy the show.

Slamdance FF 2024 Greetings again from the darkness. This story from writer-director Antonis Tsonis is based in Greece, where we find two brothers in dire need of funds. Luca (Yiannis Niarros) is a talented actor who has just received notice that he has been accepted into a prestigious method acting program based in New York City. He needs money for the trip, the tuition, and living expenses. Alekos (Kostas Nikoulis) has a dream of starting his own business. The two come up with the not-so-brilliant idea of a heist to secure the necessary funds.

Predictably, the heist goes bad for these two (previously) non-criminals, and in the ruckus, an innocent bystander gets shot in the stomach. The brothers manage to get away without being caught or identified. Already burdened with the guilt of his mother's passing, Luca tracks down the gunshot victim, Ilias (Alexandros Chrysanthopoulos) and visits him at the hospital. These visits are a bit funny and quite uncomfortable - making them intriguing to watch. Soon, Luca and the well-to-do Ilias have formed a strange bond of unexpected friendship.

One of the entertaining pieces here is the Luca is always playing a role. Famed method actor Dustin Hoffman is referenced a few times via MARATHON MAN and DOG DAY AFTERNOON, as is the titular Marlin Brando (thankfully no scenes with butter). Luca's acting exercises make for good entertainment, as both Nikoulis and Chrysanthopoulos are excellent in their roles. We are told that theater is about giving everything to art, and Tsonis has done that with his first feature-length film.

Brando with a Glass Eye is an exquisite piece of film making. The acting was superb. The lead embodied his role with the flawless balance of skill and instinct. The screenplay was beautiful, nuanced and kept me guessing. The production design, colour grading, editing, film score, sound design were all superb. The cinematography was exquisite. Such a beautiful use of the camera, at times I felt like a voyeur. I would love to sit with the director to discuss his film from its initial conception to fruition. Well done to the entire cast and crew. It takes courage to make such a film! I can't wait to see what these film makers produce next!

I had no idea what to expect, but the title and synopsis were intriguing enough to draw me to the theatre. It's honestly hard to believe this is a debut project. The film is finely crafted venturing out of text book approaches enough to keep you perpetually engaged but not so much as to be alienating. Great locations, subtle and interesting cinematography, clever script, committed performances and an overall edgy, and sometimes endearingly quirky, premise. I wish I could say even half of this for what comes out of Hollywood and the mainstream nowadays. This is the sort of creative endeavour we should be focusing our attention on instead of wasting it with mass consumer entertainment.

What an extraordinary piece of cinema. The film is audacious and wildly original - a disarming fusion of art-house intimacy and genre bravado, carried by a magnetic, star-making performance. Luca's journey is at once absurd and poignant; memory, masculinity, and myth unravel from him in threads, only to be restitched through sharp writing and surreal flair. It's brave, chaotic, razor-smart - and completely unforgettable.