Suntan (2016)

Strong and Moving!

Sadly Over-hyped

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Sexy, awkward, sad, dark. Four words that come to mind while watching Suntan.Prior to watching Suntan, I had preconceived ideas I was about to experience a story, possibly a comedy, about a middle aged male who takes a fancy to a younger female, while on holiday, and misinterpreting her body language during the course of their stay. I was correct to a certain extent.Suntan goes further. There is a middles aged man, Kostis, played brilliantly by Makis Papadimitriou. There is a girl half his age, Anna, played brilliantly by Elli Tringou. Kostis plays the part of a lonely doctor on a holiday resort. Anna is on holiday with a group of friends, staying in tents. Kostis meets Anna via the surgery, as Anna has grazed her leg. Taking a shine to Anna, Kostis heads to the beach with aims of getting to know Anna and her friends a little more. The girls are topless, sometimes naked, as the resort tolerates both nudist and those that prefer swimwear. Anna has a body to be proud of. During one scene, she performs a handstand in the sea, full bush on show above the waters surface. During after noon, Kostis and Anna kiss, and have sex on the beach. What Anna sees as a bit of fun, Kostis sees as long term love. It is form this moment, the story turns awkward, sad, dark.Kostis turns to drink, becomes a stalker, before turning into an abductor, that almost leads to rape. It's the later half of the story I wasn't prepared for. It makes for difficult viewing. Up until this point, other than the slightly awkward moment here and there, the film makes for good viewing.The whole cast are fantastic. There's some interesting camera work. Its one of those good films that takes the view there, to where the story unfolds, something that is sadly missing from many films these days.

First, sorry for my poor English.This is one of the most… real movies I have ever seen, the acting is awesome, it's so good that I don't know if the actors are not just ordinary guys and girls been themselves.They say the perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add but when there is nothing else to remove, and I think this movie is all about that, straight and honest like life, nothing redundant. The one thing that can be improved is the soundtrack, something more like Chambao would be great but overall good job even on this matter.If you ever been in love and ever been heartbroken… if you ever been alive you'll love that movie, really love it, you'll hate it and love it at the same time.

Papadimitropoulos is an okay director, nothing spectacular, we knew that already. Papadimitriou already proved himself in the recent Chevalier so I wasn't too worried about him. Triggou, a newcomer, an a priori 50-50 of potential. The subject matter well-overused; a man confronted by his own fleeting youth and crushing loneliness falls ridiculously for the young, fresh-faced siren willing to enchant him with her blooming vibrancy and rampant uninhibition. So far, so average.And then I watched it.Well.Eff me sideways.I shall repeat that for added effect.Eff me sideways.Because what this actually is is a gloriously shot, tightly paced, hedonistic take on a climactic midlife realization that caught me off guard on every possible level of expectation I prematurely held before experiencing it.Against the contrasting backdrop of dawn's naked flesh quivering with the brazen need to explore, coming in like a tide to swallow whole the bashful self-consciousness of the late afternoon, we journey through the sad and ordinary, over to the passionate and never freer, only to eventually enter the dark tunnel of unhingedness......as we progressively come to the understanding that we're doing so while riding on a train purposefully manufactured brakeless.Since I fear this is one of those movies about which I could go on for an eternity and a day, a quick summary and I'm out.Suppressed, depressed, obsessed and, finally, possessed by his own demons, Kostis evokes our sympathy and demands our loathing while having us squirming with second-hand embarrassment on the edge of our seats.Anna's care-free nuisance quickly abides as she progressively morphs into a mirror of perilous exposure held against the viewers ourselves, now, then, definitely in dormant theory, for some in operating practice.Two worlds collide, two bodies connect, two psyches shatter into razor-sharp shards of discordant bareness.Do it. Experience it. You are both Him and Her, past or present, it doesn't matter; somewhere between the misconception and the dread, you will find yourself but, perhaps most importantly, you will be offered a chance to find out about yourself.From me, a gleeful nod of approval to anyone still reading, and yet another, emphatic,Eff. Me. Sideways.

I saw this movie at its premiere, at Rotterdam International Film Festival 2016. The plot is a really simple story of a disappointed 40-something year old man, Kostis (Makis Papadimitriou, "Chevalier"), who, while working as a doctor in Antiparos island, falls passionately in love with a young Anna (Elli Trigkou). The movie is set in the beautiful, yet crazy scenery of Antiparos, and it portrays its atmosphere and hedonistic frenzy in a vivid and realistic way. The drunkenness of summer and the liberal power of youth, as captured by the lens of Argyris Papadimitropoulos ("Wasted Youth"), are constantly being collated with the awkward phase of the middle aged body and the protagonist's useless struggle of overlooking it. The photography and visuals of the movie are stunning. Each frame is carefully set in a way that the characters inner selves are revealed through nature. The documentary-like feel of some of them serves as a catalyst in enclosing the atmosphere of the place through the unfolding of the plot. The body, and the ways we perceive it are also part of the plot, so be prepared for a lot of nudism and strong language. Makis Papadimitriou seems to be the best choice of portraying the disappointed, dissatisfied man who falls victim of his own passions. His performance is excellent, realistic and never over the top. Elli Trigkou is also convincing as Anna, and the rest of the cast seems to be carefully chosen. All in all, this movie is the vivid and painful hymn of the coming of middle age. A must see.