The 64th Thessaloniki International Film Festival opened

Yesterday, the 64th International Festival opened in Thessaloniki, the main film festival in the Balkans, which presents a vast panorama of world cinema. The films are structured in three competitive, as well as out-of-competition and retrospective programs. He talks about them Andrey Plakhov.

The main international competition for the Golden Alexander – Theo Angelopoulos prize includes 11 films by young directors, including three Greek ones. “The Last Taxi Driver” by Stergios Paschos And “Medium” by Christina Ioakemidi — psychological dramas about fateful meetings that dramatically change the lives of the characters and encourage them to reassess their place in the world. On the contrary, in the film Sophia Exarch “Animal” events move in the same vicious circle. Animators working in a hotel on a Greek island are cogs in a giant entertainment machine, gladiators whose souls, bodies and lives are put on display for guests of different nationalities and preferences. Every evening, the entertainers of the masses put on a stage costume, glue a smile to their face and go out to amuse the audience. If you want, here’s “Felicita”, or “Yes, sir, I can boogie-woogie”, or “A Million Scarlet Roses”. The main character, Kalia, has been doing this business for many years and lives for wear: at night she warms herself up with alcohol and sex, and in the morning she falls into a depressive hangover. Dimitra Vlagopoulou plays a real actress at heart, drowning out the pain with yet another stage triumph. Even if she has to perform in a fish costume, smeared with gel, wrapped in plastic film and turning the stupidest “fish ballet” into a masterpiece of tourist kitsch.

The competition includes a film by another Greek director – Christos Nikoubut it was filmed in the USA. “Nails” – a fantastic story about how a specially created institute tests the truth and reciprocity of love using a new toxic technology – analysis of a torn nail. This is especially true for Anna, who works at this very institute and is going through a crisis of marriage. Nikou, who was an assistant to Yorgos Lanthimos, follows the path of a mentor: in his first English-language work, he strives to get rid of speculative coldness and, while maintaining a penchant for the grotesque, to discover new resources of emotionality.

It’s rare that a Russian film is included in the competition at European festivals this year, but in Thessaloniki there is one too – “Whim” by Ilya Povolotsky.

The teenage heroine travels with her father across the vast Russia, from the Caucasus to Murmansk, in an old van, which serves them not only as a home, but also as a living capsule filled with memories and emotions. This is also a mobile cinema in which, for a nominal fee, viewers are shown “Brother” by Alexei Balabanov and “Loyalty” by Nigina Sayfullaeva. Filmed during a pandemic, Povolotsky’s film speaks of stopped time, which is transforming before our eyes from the physical to the metaphysical. It is also a metaphor for Russian history that has reached a dead end, a journey-escape into a ghostly space reminiscent of the afterlife. The director, famous for the documentary “Foam” (it was shown at the Thessaloniki festival), retains a taste for textural details, but with its relaxed poetic structure it reminds the foreign eye of the cinema of Andrei Tarkovsky – this is how it is presented in the festival catalogue.

The parallel competition “Meeting with Neighbors” features films from countries geographically close to Greece. Among them stands out “The Vanished Soldier” by Israeli Dani Rosenberg. The premonition of a big war, the constant feeling of threat, the psychological burden that the entire population of the country bears – all this is clearly palpable in the film, filmed, of course, even before the latest tragic events. 18-year-old soldier Shlomi flees the fighting in the Gaza Strip, unable to bear being separated from his girlfriend. For 24 hours he wanders around humid, hot Tel Aviv until the consequences of his infantile act dawn on him. The IDF decided that Shlomi had been kidnapped and carried out a brutal bombardment of Palestinian territory with numerous casualties, including children. Knowing better than many what war is, the Israelis demonstrate artistic courage in their approach to this topic: “The Vanished Soldier” is an example of the tragicomedy genre, in which the absurd and funny go hand in hand with the terrible.

The festival opened with a film “The Passion of Doden Buffan” (“Recipe for Love”). Benoit Magimel plays a wealthy gourmet esthete who lived at the end of the 19th century, and Juliette Binoche plays the talented cook he hired, capable of preparing the most exquisite haute cuisine. In addition to professional cooperation, the heroes are connected by a romantic relationship that lasts for years. This gastronomic love story celebrates the art of cooking, the transcendental connection between eroticism and taste, revealing the secret ingredients of love and the subtleties of human communication. There is an extreme closeness between the two performers, connected by several years of marriage and a common child. And Vietnam-born director Tran Anh Hung, who became famous 30 years ago with the films “The Smell of Green Papaya” and “Pedica,” made a magnificent film not based on oriental material, but on the most French material. It’s no wonder that “Recipe for Love” was nominated for an Oscar by France. And the festival will close with a Finnish film—a candidate for this award— “Fallen Leaves” by Aki Kaurismäki.