Based in Athens of the early 80's the story follows the everyday life of a group of young friends, supposed to be teenagers and their row and aggressive negotiation with life.
The Story A': coming from different backgrounds, four friends are sharing a good deal of similar problems. Despite coming from different backgrounds they share the poverty, the grim future, the instincts of sexuality and the anger towards a society that is treating them "unequally". The scenery begins with a group of bikers driving fast on a motorway of the Greek capital. Early 80s disco atmosphere, shining balls and cola drinks in a modernizing but still misery city, the four friends are trying to secure some cash for the night drinks and the coffee, in different ways. The money is supposed to become the prominent problem. A bet that one of the friends loses and is unable to pay back leads to a physical assault, but in a romantic way the girlfriend of the rival biker chooses the bitten hero. Two more gang fights will follow but the second one will take place just after a comic (but eventually tragic) robbery of a wealthy man. The scene closes with the announcement of the judge's verdict and the grim part of the movie follows.
The Story B': a frightening "welcome" in the juvenile prison (in the reality the Korydalos prison) introduces the audience in a psychological thriller state. The four friends survive the system united but paying a painful price of the prison reality: forced homosexuality, ill treatment, psychological torture and illicit drugs. In a traditional Greek drama way the actors are alternating their play from been comedians and sarcastic of the insane reality to play the dramatic role of the trapped young prisoners. In this way they challenge our interest and the messages are smoothly transferred together with the entertainment.
The Psychological Truths Behind the Families: The 4 friends are reflecting 4 different family situation that are (in the movie) suggestive of a predisposition but perpetuation as well of the behaviors of the 4 friends. The divorced couple that has been torturing emotionally the son via their indifference for what is his reality, the military father who makes his son ridicule in front of his friends in the disco, the father with the connections but in denial for his son who denies to listen to him even when they are sitting each opposite the other in the visiting room of the prison and the poor old couple that after arranging a marriage of their daughter with a rich American (sending her away) are finding impossible to tolerate the aggression of the handsome son who dresses in sexy underwear.
The Psychological Truths Behind the Greek Prison System: a painful movie for anyone who has got an insight in the Greek Prison system. In some commends about this movie there is a suggestion for an "old" prison system. In the movie a reference by the chief officer in the Corfu Prison and the Yedi Coule (Thessalonika's old prison) are full of messages as they were supposed to be two of the nastiest prisons in modern Greece (Yedi Coule finally was shut down late 80s and the filthy reality came in the light; the prison was lacking even a sewage system!). Tsakiridis plays a classical and realistic role of the "God", the dirty prison warden. A tough moment is when the governor of the prison tries to play the soft supportive "father figure" and prompts the prisoners to talk. Matsas who plays the role was a fantastic choice. For the Greek audience he has been identified as the "traitor" in all the classical Greek movies. Therefore the audience expects the treason, which comes in the form of the punishment of those who were brave enough to complain.
The Movie: A diachronic and genuine movie that will entertain while the difficult things, the sensitive issues that are still impossible to be spoken aloud, are going to be communicated to the audience in the 90 minutes of a painful comedy.
