Balamos

Even art-house wanking has it's limits but this takes the cake. To say that the plot is loose would be an understatement. Basically this is the story of a gypsy fairy-tale figure, Balamos, who is looking to buy a horse. From some point onwards, the film becomes a series of fantasy sequences: Balamos as a slave in biblical times; an encounter with a prophet who witnessed Christ's crucifixion; an encounter with an oracle; Balamos as some sort of vampire etc. In the end he returns to real life.

All the film is shot in documentary style, ie it seems unedited and cheaply shot. This is as cohesive as a bad dream, it's a series of chaotic images, almost dadaist cinema. The point is that in order to make this sort of thing appealing, you have to present really striking images, but Stavros Tornes is a talentless hack. This is like Felini's "Satyricon" without the vision.

Granted, SOME of the sequences are mildly interesting, and as an idea it sounds nice, but generally it's torture to watch. And what's the point really? What I find really disturbing is that this film was co-produced by the Greek Film Centre, which is founded by us taxpayers. I want my money back.