Such a disservice that people merely view this film as a romance or a mere drama on reviews here. Unsurprising, considering very few know or care about Greek history, but a basic knowledge of the Greek junta during 1967-74 and what led to it quickly reveals the films highly political nature. Even within its first scene, the political context is established: crown, cross, army. A state occupied by an army, legislated by morals of a religion and ruled like a tyrannical king. The film dissects and deconstructs the archetypical gender models of the era and how fundamentally broken they are; based on largely instinctual and barbaric sentiments, where women are seen as prey and men as valiant soldiers. But obviously, that is not the case: women are more than prostitutes, men are more than army men. Complex human beings with complex emotions that are both searching for affection in an inaffectionate world. It’s only a matter of time before the model breaks and eats itself.
I would put this film in the category of "found browsing the web" since constantly I am reading pages about cinema, because from time to time I like to soak up new cinema and know about films that I did not know about, so this is how I knew about it and I was not going to miss the opportunity to see it and write about.Evdokia is a romantic drama with Greek tragedy included where the main characters are two young persons imbued with Greek complexity in the early 70s; who after a brief and intense idyll, get married. The social environment and the geography import an ominous burden that has the effect of corroding the relationship between our two protagonists, a Sergeant called Baskos and a prostitute precisely called in the same way as the film is titled, both are very different people but that in some strange way they complete each other, the film is an explosion of emotions because at times is stormy, others are warm as a breeze, passionate and libertine and with a very colloquial oneiric detachment from the southeastern country.Even though it tells a story, the performances are not the strongest point, making Evdokia an experiment that is both full of Greek symbolism and diverse interpretations, and therefore more of a visual than a narrative experience, Maybe that's where Alexis Damianos left me disappointed with the idea that his result was different, I expected a solidity in his story since he portrays ideas that are good and worthwhile, even so, he is not the kind of film that you will accept passively, but as an experience, I would not take it any less.In 1986 Evdokia was named the best Greek film of all time but I think that if it were so it would be more memorable and unfortunately for me, it has not been, especially if we put it aside from any film that has been directed by names that have already had a reputation as established directors around the world like Theodoros Angelopoulos or Yorgos Lanthimosno who have put their country on the map, my intention is not to belittle what Damianos has done, but if you ask me if there are better films than this one I would affirmatively hire without a second thought.
Damianos' most accessible film about the irrational stampede of emotions held between a brute, chauvinistic sargeant and an extroverted, irresponsible prostitute idealizing true love is considered one of the most important films in Greek history. I will have to admit not only that many celluloid testaments around the world treated the same themes and showcased a similar technical versatility prior to this, but also that there were a significant amount of films that were much more groundbreaking prior to Evdokia, but I would be a hypocrite if I ever stated that this is not impeccable and hauntingly assembled.Props to Maria Vassiliou for bringing to life a smashing performance as the antithesis of Cabiria (1957) and the submissive version of the dominant Stella (1955), more on the vein of Hanuma (1951) but with splashes of romantic sensuousness in what is, ultimately, a destructive marriage, worsened only by their respective social pressures and the catastrophers of the Greek military junta, which works just as a subtext more than a context. More than an anti-discrimination statement, it is about the laws of the harvest. Initially, I was thinking about Fassbinder's controversial anti-racism romance masterpiece of two years later, but then my mind took me to more narratively experimental and genre-defying films, and Evdokia proudly belongs to the latter category.It is a compliment to say that this is Damiano's worst, and the world would have to wait 24 more years to reach his most glorious state (some didn't even live long enough to witness it), but here we are, appreciating an important name with only THREE freaking films, mind you.97/100
