Pity

I see polarizing reviews and that's understandable because this movie is not for everyone. I liked it a lot, hence this high rating. But i can see the reasons why one might dislike it.

This plays like a drama but it is a dark comedy. Humor is extremely subtle. I didn't even understand this is basically a dark comedy during the first 30 minutes. When i get what this movie is about, i laughed a lot of times, there were even hilarious scenes. But i repeat, one must have a dark and weird sense of humor in order to find this appealing. It's very odd, characters talk like they are robots, they talk weird, they say weird things, this is more like an existential, maybe even surrealistic at times, dark comedy, nothing feels natural here and that's exactly the director's purpose.

I would prefer a different ending. The last 15 minutes were more intense, even exciting but simultaneously, this outcome was a bit predictable. One could guess this would go that dark. I would prefer for the ending to be funnier, staying in the (absurd) course. I believe this lost its identity and authenticity in order to be shocking. Still, this whole turn didn't ruin this movie. It's just that i believe it could be much better.

Overall, this is clever and unique.

If you've heard of Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, Dogtooth), then you've likely heard of the Greek Weird Wave. That 'weird' tag has been applied to this film, "Pity", which also happens to share a screenwriter with the films of Lanthimos, further establishing the connection.

"What's it about?", you ask? If you are concerned over what the plot of Pity is, then this movie is probably not for you. If, however, you are a fan of this cycle of recent Greek cinema, then you definitely need to see this one. It's odd, distant, ultimately unknowable, but also deeply, darkly funny. It was a humor made deeper because I didn't see it coming. I laughed out loud. A lot.

If you are a fan of black humor, and if you sometimes find yourself the only person in a perplexed audience who is laughing, then this movie is probably your type of thing. I am that person, the Lone Laugher. And I'm also a fan of this Greek "wave". I highly recommend Pity.

The issue with Pity is that the film isn't as weird as it should be in order to carry on with the script and the humour it propose. In my opinion, it's halfway. For those who wants to see it you can find it in Mubi a streaming plataform. Sorry the bad english, kiss from argentina 🌈

First three fourths of the film is very good, the last one fourth is awful. That last quarter spoils the value of the entire film.

I was stunned by the screen-presence of actress Evi Saoulidou, who plays the wife recovering from coma. Though her screen time was teeny weeny, she is a Melina Mercouri award winner for stage acting in Greece. I do hope some top international directors pick her up for bigger significant roles in their forthcoming projects.

What if Haneke's "The Seventh Continent" was shot by Lanthimos? Pity!

Haneke makes very good movies. Their only problem is they are not movies. Instead, they are sociological articles written by moving images. Whether intentionally or not, they fail to trigger emotions in the viewers. They just tell what they want to tell. Greek Weird Wave, on the other hand, catches the viewer with its absurdity and "injects" its position. And this is what I call "art."

Pity is a must-see about the emptiness of the middle class life flavored with a very well-tuned humor.