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Smyrni mou agapimeni (2021)
A lost chance
This is one of the movies that can only be characterized as "lost chance". A lost chance for a horrible story to be told, a lost chance for people to learn what happened almost 100 year ago at the shores of Asia Minor. It is so bad that most likely it will create a negative sentiment to the outsider.
First and foremost the movie is completely build around the main actress. She speaks, she is the main person of the frame in such a way that everybody else is lost. Therefore, there is no character arch, no development, you cannot identify with anybody. Everything is painfully slow, painfully bland and pretentious like the director needed to fill 45 minutes to an hour of film in order to arrive to the bloody climax of the event. So we have two films. The boring part with few historical hints that you can easily miss unless if you are a pro in history and the other half that aims to the emotions of the viewer. The second part is not bad for the likes of the Greek cinema but as the first part is wasted, it can create equal negative sentiments form those who can claim that it presents only the Greek side ( I don't but my opinion here is beyond the point).
Last but not least the movie is an insult to the actual Greek history. It tries to do justice to both fractions of the Greek politics back then. To those who brought Greece close to the Greek unification and to those who did their best to cancel it and eventually were responsible for the disaster. History has been written regarding this episode and trying to take equal distances from the Monarchy and create heroes out of the incompetent idiots who continued the war despite their promises to end it, is ridiculous. Movies and stories are written with strong messages either pro or against. If you try to stay in the fence you end up with nothing. Like this movie.