Suntan
Directed by:
Argyris PapadimitropoulosCinematography:
Christos KaramanisCast:
Makis Papadimitriou, Elli Tringou, Yannis Tsortekis, Maria Kallimani, Marissa Triandafyllidou, Syllas Tzoumerkas, Argyris Pandazaras, Pavlos OrkopoulosPlots(1)
Suntan is a coming of middle-age film, from Greek filmmaker Argyris Papadimitropoulos, that celebrates the beauty and strength of the youthful body, while simultaneously embracing its inevitable decay. For middle-aged Kostis (Makis Papadimitriou), life has passed him by. As the newly appointed doctor of a tiny island, Kostis spends a dreary winter alone. By the time summer arrives, though, the island has turned into a thriving, wild vacation spot with nude beaches and crazy parties. When Kostis meets the beautiful and flirty Anna (Elli Tringou), he falls hard for her and goes out of his way to impress her. Before long, Kostis is spending nearly all of his time getting drunk, partying hard, and even making out with Anna. What starts as a rediscovery with his lost-long youth, though, slowly turns into an obsession as Kostis is willing to do whatever it takes to keep his Anna. The eternal Greek summer provides the perfect background for this extravagance of craving and everything that goes with it: flirting, casual sex, drugs, alcohol and pushing the boundaries to see how far your body can go. (Eureka Entertainment)
(more)Reviews (2)
One fool’s emotional infatuation with a vivacious hippie in a psychologically accurate drama that never develops into anything more intense and surprising than a somewhat half-baked symbolic festival movie. But Suntan works well as a portrait of a loner who has fallen into despair, and it is also appealing due to its insight into the workings of society on a small Greek island.
()
A shining example of a European drama that shows the best that the national (Greek in this case) cinematography has to offer. The environment of the Antiparos Island is fascinating and the insight into the life of the local population is no less interesting; a couple of Greek people and one stupid girl who turns the unfortunate local Greek man into a scapegoat. But then, she had no idea what was about to happen. The conclusion gets all psychological. It’s just a shame that the director wasn’t a bit more literal with the ending. I expected a dark conclusion that I’m used to with Scandinavian movies and that I – unfortunately – didn’t get.
()