NIKOS PANAYOTOPOULOS
Born in Mytilene (Lesbos Island) in 1941 and passed away in Athens in 2016. He studied film in Athens while working as an assistant director in Greek and international productions. From 1960 to 1973, he lived in Paris, where he studied at the Sorbonne. In 1974, he returned to Greece and directed his first film, The Colors of Iris, an instant classic of New Greek Cinema. He was one of the most originaL and prolific directors of the New Wave of Greek Cinema. Developing his personal style, blending various genres—from comedy to crime films and from musicals to road movies—he directed 13 more films. His work focused on the lives of people in contemporary Greece, their interpersonal relationships, cinema itself, and art in general. His cinematic vision was characterized by humor and tenderness, with strong doses of irony and sarcasm about the human condition.
During the beta version of Gr2me we will show only the first 6-8 minutes of a feature film. The entire movie will be available via VoD after the official launch of the site.
Having returned to Greece from Paris and having made his directorial debut a few years earlier with The Colors of Iris, Nikos Panayotopoulos leaves his mark on the domestic film scene with his second film—perhaps the most defining work of his filmography.
A wealthy bourgeois man and his three sons reside in a grand country mansion, where they gradually succumb to idleness, free from the necessity of work. Stillness becomes contagious, spreading through their world until they resemble the living dead. They awaken from their lethargy only for food and sex. One son attempts to escape with the maid, but before he can get far, exhaustion overtakes him, and he falls asleep on the spot. Another son sleeps incessantly. Is there an escape from the pleasure of laziness?
In this world of mentally aged, indolent men, only the female servant embodies movement and willpower. In this early work that has flourished over time, Panayotopoulos crafts a dark satire, observing the bourgeoisie with a mix of pity and critique, exposing their inertia and decline.
A descendant of Buñuel and a forerunner of a new wave of Greek cinema, the film is allegorical without being trapped in its era, maintaining both its surreal power and its lighthearted touch—qualities that have made it a timeless cult classic.
Thessaloniki Film Festival
The film won the Golden Leopard at the 1978 Locarno International Film Festival.
CAST
Olga Karlatos
George Dialegmenos
Dimitris Poulikakos
Nikitas Tsakiroglou
Vassilis Diamantopoulos
Costas Sfikas
CREDITS
DIRECTOR: Nikos Panayotopoulos
SCREENPLAY: Nikos Panayotopoulos
(based on a story by Albert Cossery)
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Andreas Bellis
EDITING: Yorgos Triandafyllou
SETS: Dionyssis Fotopoulos
COSTUMES: Dionyssis Fotopoulos
SOUND: Nikos Achladis
AWARDS
LOCARNO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Golden Leopard for Best Film
CHICAGO FILM FESTIVAL
Bronze Hugo
THESSALONIKI FILM FESTIVAL
Best Film
Best Editing (Yorgos Triandafyllou)
Best Set Decoration (Dionyssis Fotopoulos)
Hellenic Association of Film Critics:
Best Film
REVIEWS
Only the youngest of the three sons of a wealthy patriarch seems to resent the laziness that prevails in their luxurious home. But is his love for the maid enough to bring about such a rift?
The lazy movements of the camera and the perfectly synchronized performances of the wonderful cast set the pace of a uniquely well-tuned film that is as hypnotic as it is exciting. The reason? You always have the feeling that a dark humor constantly undermines the seriousness of the situations, but you’re not so sure. Which is to say, welcome to the cinema of Nikos Panagiotopoulos – but also to one of the most representative moments of the New Greek Cinema.
Akis Kapranos – Film Critic