Windfall in Athens

citog3.5

A lighthearted, light-on-its-feet comedy of 50’s Athens with both film and subjects caught between worlds: fantasy and reality, desire and contentment. However I came across this, the familiar tale of a young milliner dealing with the fallout of someone trying to take their winning lottery ticket and visuals to match a favourite painting hooked me easily. Though this came decades later the screwball/neorealist mix gives a feel not a million miles from a 20’s silent feature. And the influences of the latter style give many striking snapshots of the humdrum side of a young woman’s life working in the Greek capital. My highlights all came when it didn’t feel like events were aimed at being a Movie, but instead incidental moments that told us more of Mina (Ellie Lambeti*) than any bit could. The plot is ultimately harmless, and the ending couldn’t’ve been more predictable without hopping off the screen and thumping you over the head. So the pleasure is found like on a Sunday walk— from getting there rather than where you’re getting. It only ever flirts with becoming the focus, but the insight this gives into the lives of women in Greek society of the time was fascinating: from being creeped on young, falling emotionally distant from (while still dependant on) a husband, to being lonely enough to fall for the schmoozing tricks of a smarmy tenant. In another world, the story here becomes one or more women getting agency back, much and all as money would’ve given it to them. But, despite the original Greek title translating to Sunday Awakening, to hope for this or to buy into what is delivered you may as well keep dreaming. ____________________Defies logic a bit, but watched here with quite good autosubs… on a tv cut with Arabic hardsubs. There are not one but two sets of legit English subs out there, but neither synch with any version floating around so save yourself the tears. *If the film weren’t fun on its own it’d be worth watching for her at her candid best. I don’t think this is regarded as her best performance, but it proved a striking introduction. Her character’s happy nature and family ties hit different after reading about the tragic turns and end that awaited her offscreen. There was even an unusual legal case thrown in the mix, calling events here to mind.

Edgar Cochran ✝️🍋5.0

Wow! What a debut by the classic Greek director Kakogiannis! Prior to developing his heartfelt and melodramatic romantic comedy, he dives us straight into the heart of Athens, overflowing his love for the city and, most importantly, for the people that breathe in its streets everyday, through an astonishing opening sequence full of energy, comedy and dynamism. From there, a sensational combination of drama, comedy, a gorgeous colonial cinematography, and a cast delivering very talented and funny performances unleashes in front of our eyes, including the always stunning Ellie Lambeti, my lost Greek flower I'll never be able to marry.Back in the old days, cinema audiences were indifferent to the formulas of "coincidences", probabilities and unlikely romances displayed in movie plots, as the films fully embraced their free-flowing and lighthearted nature. Today, we're exhausted from its overexploitation and overuse. However, it is about the understanding of the film's heart where our disbelief can be more easily suspended and be absorbed by romantic stories that border on the fantastical, and this film has a huge heart put right in the middle of it, quite clearly established from the opening sequence.Two years before the goddess Ellie Lambeti gave one of the best performances in cinema history, relevant filmmaker Mihalis Kakogiannis put his name on the Greek cinema map with this enchanting, light comedy with Hollywood screwball elements before being known and awared overseas 10 years later.98/100

Avirup

Fun set up for a rom-com with some decent shots Athens street. Nothing remarkable but charming, breezy and perfect for easy Sunday watch.