User reviews

Difficult. That's what cult stands for in this situation. Greece's highest creations come from a group of people where they recycle and create via a type of rotation. The producer of Dogtooth become a director, the director an actor and so on. Not bad at all. Follows the artistic aspect of Dogtooth, showing a story on adulthood and dealing with loss and what you are. An unconventional human being (with a touch of Asperger's syndrome), a loving and caring father, a slutty best friend and a partner almost like an alter ego, resembles to her father, and mirrors herself. Honest, familiar yet artsy, method-ish and pretentious from time to time. But still opens up to the viewers, where the twisted is welcome, no one judges and offers himself to the public effortlessly, honestly almost unconditionally. A new era, post modern, unlocks the contemporary social establishment.

According to one of the main characters, Greece is a country which has moved from keeping sheep to IT, without passing industrialism. And this is not the Greece you see in postcards. It's post modernism in an ugly shape, the remains of an overrated 20th century.

One of the girls here is 23 years old and has always rejected both sex and love. Her female friend is on the other hand very experienced. Their relationship is somewhat cold, although finds expression in their dancing together in a yard.

A father and architect dies, not any longer believing in his 1900s. The 23-year-old girl almost talks a relation with a man into pieces. This is a form experiment, but it's not that successful. But it very much rejects that old bad century.

What a film, I adored this feature. For its bravery, uniqueness and willingness to be something different, in almost every aspect.

Directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari, this feature was a true experience. An arthouse film from Greece, in Greek and parts in French plus a dash of English, it had such a character, and tone which shone through the screen with such confidence and clarity. The direction is masterful, guiding the four main performances to every beat, it doesn't feel overlong or cringed, it is sublime, and pure.

The main performance by Ariane Labed was perfect, she delivered her characters fear, inexperience, crudeness, wackiness, and curiosity with such a command, that is quiet yet enthralling. This being her first film performance, and a tough one to wrestle with, it is classful and incredible that it was delivered so well, despite the characters absurdity.

Evangelia Randou as Bella was great, she played the promiscuous character well. In particular I found for the random cuts to where Marina and Bella would walk down the pathway in the strangest ways, dancing or pouncing about, they were hilarious and truly something which lightened the somewhat heavy theme of the picture. Vangelis Mourikis as Spyros was surprisingly funny, I had though that his character would be boring, but in the end, I sympathised with him greatly and his final fate is sad, yet it is what would always of happened. Yorgos Lanthimos also appears in this film, his character is a vehicle for Marina to explore the new world which she enters, and he plays the part very well, without an ounce of amateurism as an actor, while many of his scenes are highly sexual, the narrative focuses deeply on the characters, and how much they speak during their interactions, which is funny since these are the only scenes with great deal of dialogue, which was deeply ironic and funny.

The screenplay and narrative of this film are on paper rather thin, however when played on screen; they become so full of life and so rich. The characters may seem catatonic on the facade, but if one pays attention, they become so layered. Though little is spoken throughout this feature, very much is said through body language, though sound, these are highly visual performances. And that is how the character development is delivered, and is driven by bad circumstances and poor decisions, that deliver such strong characterisation. The screenplay can'y have been very long, yet it delivers so much.

The narrative is further aided by the masterful cinematography. It is in a 1.85:1 which immediately is different and gives a larger, more juvenile looking frame, on my screen it was very engaging. In addition to this, the camera acts as as if it were a person, but always either slowly moving or sat down, it feels very natural. No shot if forced, nor extreme, it is a visceral experience. It is beautifully filmed. It was done on 35mm film, this gives it something of a timeless look, for it has nether the sharpness of 64mm film, nor the grainy and retro look of 16mm film. It is my personal favourite type of film, and seeing it used to its greatest effect, in mostly natural lighting, with natural angles, it was a sight to behold. A welcome gift for weary eyes.

On the negative side, in sone small segment towards the end of the second act, the film loses a little steam, and slows down a tad but then picks up again very quickly. Also I felt that Yorgos Lanthimos' character could have been explored a little more than what was given.

The uniqueness of this film cannot be understated. From the sheer quirkiness of certain scenes, which can go so far as pure madness, it was absolutely intoxicating and engaging. This is not a phrase I like to use, but I couldn't take my eyes off the screen, I was staring at it the whole way through, even the more disturbing and intimate scenes, this film as such character and breath of uniqueness that is just not present in so many other films. The way the natural colours look, the film, the framing, the performances and the remarkable screenplay and strong direction, overall give an interesting and ultimately fun experience, I was very glad to have seen this obscure and mostly forgotten about film, I give it a very healthy 9/10

This film feels like it's a joke that I'm not intelligent enough to get.

Dark, unpleasant movie about contemporary Greece, set by a dying father and a lost-soul daughter. Strange how you can fall in love with an actress you haven't seen before, as I did with Ariane Labed playing Marina. I guess she reminded me both physically and spiritually of an ex-girlfriend. Attractive, somehow boyish, always making the other move, both at a distance and now and then unexpectedly intimate. All the talking in other reviews about Marina being emotionally 'dead' is total nonsense. You have to (try to) understand this character, but not many men are willing or able to. To me she was the shining light in this portrayal of a depressed, bankrupt and humiliated country. This movie worked like a magnet to me. After I finished watching it, I was almost certain the director had to be a woman of about my age. I was right. I suppose Ariane has a great filming future ahead of her, but I hope she will perform in movies like this one. But it could just as well be her best role already.

It's weird, it's fresh, it's new, it's youth portrayed. I loved it, it's one of those films that stick with you even days after seeing it. It's a pretty simple plot but the interactions of Marina with her friend, her lover and specially her father are thoughtful, intimate, funny and very interesting to watch. The feeling of this movie is not to take very seriously major life events. In a way, it's a very positive, weird, original and funny movie. The intimacy achieved by the main actress it's amazing, and as much as I loved it, I understand not everyone will get it, or feel it the way I had. But to me, it was a journey whom I connected deeply with. The misanthropic and weird nature, but also positivity and amazingness of Marina captivated me. I'm very grateful I had the opportunity to watch it through MUBI. Plus! the soundtrack fu*king rocks, I love the band Suicide. It's a greek gem, and it certainly has become one of my favorites.

What in the holy hell was this garbage?!?!? This Greek film is so completely devoid of meaning it's just a ball of junk. Perhaps that's not entirely true. Within the 90 minutes there is a bit of story that could have been nicely packaged into a 15 minute short film. That means 75 minutes of NOTHING have been added in between what actually means something. I am sure the director had a vision and the symbolism would be apparent but NO, it's NOT apparent. What we're subjected to is scenes of no meaning and essentially zero emotion. None. I will say this -- it is an interesting view of Greece, quite unreminiscent of the postcard-pretty, beautifully sunny, white washed Mediterranean scenes most people have seen a thousand times. This is a bleak Greece with bleak life wrapped up in a bleak film. I watched in a state of perplexation then at the end I wanted to run outside and scream in horror at what a terrible movie this is... but it was 4 a.m. and I'd wake up my neighbors. I'd rather watch 90 minutes of just my facial expressions while watching this film. Or I'd rather set myself on fire because that would be more entertaining than this so-called movie. In 86 movies, it's actually not the worst I've seen in 2013 but it most definitely was a total waste of time.

3.5 / 10 stars

--Zoooma, a Kat Pirate Screener

I recently saw this at the 2012 Palm Springs International Film Festival. Marina (Ariane Labed) is a sexually inexperienced 23 year old who lives with her dying architect father Spyros (Vangelis Mourilas) in a Greek mining town. She shares her existence with her best and only friend Bella (Evangelina Randou) and for some unexplained reason they enjoy holding arms and doing silly walks together. Bella also brushes Marina up on the art of kissing. Bella works in a diner while Marina also has a job but we never really learn what she does. Marina's father is dying and she takes him to and from doctors appointments and the clinic and they eventually live together in a motel room close to the hospital. Marina and her father like to watch David Attenbourough nature documentaries where she and her father mimic the animals featured in them. She mispronounces Attenbourough's name as Attenberg, thus the name of the film. Marina finds a boyfriend in an engineer (Giorgios Lanthimos whom she does not want to share with Bella. Athima Rachel Tsangari directs this original story written by her. Not much of a story here. Not much of a film here either. Good soundtrack to this film with music by Suicide, François Hardy, Daniel Johnston, J.J. Johnson's Beboppers and Marilena Orfanu. Lanthimos who plays Marina's boyfriend is best know as the director of the critically acclaimed film Dogtooth. Attenberg is Greece's official submission for consideration as Best Foreign Language Film to this years Academy Awards. Surely there were better films to come out of Greece so why they chose this one perplexes me. I would give this a 5.0 out of 10.

This is my first review (here) ever, so it's safe to say that Attenberg was an experience I won't forget. I can't recall seeing a movie that was so infuriating in its desperate desire to be quirky and original. The most valid point this movie makes is that not anyone in Greece can pull out a Dogtooth, even if they've collaborated with Lanthimos and cast him in the film. It's painfully clear that this was Tsangari's aim. Yes, Attenberg deals with same themes. Yes, the actors are almost as brilliant. But that's all these two films have in common.

This movie seems to lack any kind of rhythm. Cinematography is downright pedestrian and the editing disjointed. There are way too many - and way too long - uninteresting shots, most of which obviously underline the poor state of Greece. I stress the word "underline" as the point was already made in the first 10 minutes. The awkward kissing scene and the childish dances are really effective, but combined with the snail-paced dullness of the rest of the material, they stick out like sore thumbs. In this context, these weird elements serve absolutely no other purpose than making the watcher uncomfortable.

I really tried to like this movie, but can't escape the fact that it didn't provoke a single thought and came across only as an opportunistic slice of pretentious art cinema. Maybe that was the aim, who knows.

1/10

10 Exceptional 9 Outstanding 8 Excellent 7 Very good 6 Good 5 Enjoyable 4 Watchable 3 Bad 2 Very bad 1 Abysmal

Wihtout much info regarding the writer/director or a film presentation it's hard to solve the puzzle of what I've just watched (I have Chevalier in my watchlist: good reason to watch it sooner than later).

While I'm not sure if Attenberg is about human ethology, about a father-daughter bond, about Greece, industrial districts, young women, modern relationships or modern relationships of Greek young women in industrial districts...

OR simply autobiographical...

While I'm not sure of any of these, I can say that Attenberg is a pleasing and powerful watch.

It's amazing what kind of stuff can pass as an art film nowadays. Some random shots of garden sprinklers, factories, people doing bizarre dance routines and acting like animals. For the sake of "high culture," the slightest notion of coherence and logic has been omitted, so each time the film depicts people doing everyday activities, they got to act like dummies in a shop window. There is some nudity. The director of Dogtooth shows up at some point and gets a bl**-j*b. It must have been a good one because he married the chick in real life.

23 year old Marina (Ariane Labed) has a best and only friend Bella (Evangelia Randou) living in a small Greek seaside town. She has a job driving a visiting engineer around for the big factory. Her dad is dying and she's growing out of her shell.

It's a cold deadpan delivery from everybody. Starting from the awkward opening scene where the two women try tongue kissing, this is an experimental film bent on provoking something from the audience. However the one emotion provoked in me is boredom. That's even true for the weird dance number. The monotone style really wore me out. Ariane seems like a compelling actress. Her story with the father has good potential. I just got bored waiting for things to happen.

Attenberg is a weird movie. Greek cinema is full of this kind of film, and it don't make of any of it movies less impactive. The films may be a little hard to common audiences, but there is a certain delight in it.

Director Athina Rachel Tsangari puts her female look in a Greece at an imminent crisis, a Greece that still the mother of western culture, but more and more is excluded of the own context, weirdly. Attenberg is original, strange, brave, funny and even reflexive. The situations in the film may be presented in an unconventional way, but it's not hard to discover how universal they are.

Marina (brilliantly interpreted by Ariane Labed) may not be the typical character, but see the her world from inside may be a very interesting experiences.

What a stupid movie. What a stupid script. Aren't you embaransed?

This is the worst most pretentious film I've seen in a while. I don't care to elaborate, because watching this has already taken too much precious lifetime away from me. Just please take my advice: don't waste your time watching this garbage.

This is the worst most pretentious film I've seen in a while. I don't care to elaborate, because watching this has already taken too much precious lifetime away from me. Just please take my advice: don't waste your time watching this garbage.

This is the worst most pretentious film I've seen in a while. I don't care to elaborate, because watching this has already taken too much precious lifetime away from me. Just please take my advice: don't waste your time watching this garbage.

Athina Rachel Tsangari's "Attenberg" doesn't present the most positive image of Greece. The focus is a pair of friends in a mining town. The main girl is watching her father die, and her only real pleasure is watching David Attenborough's wildlife documentaries, in addition to the sex education given to her by her friend.

The movie itself was pretty slow and seemed to have little other purpose except to show these girls in a grim existence. But at the same time it gives one a sense of life in the Hellenic Republic. Once the land that gave the world philosophy, it's now the Third World of Europe. The historic sites are surrounded by crumbling sidewalks and people missing teeth. It's no accident that Greece has been probably the single country most affected by Europe's economic mess. As the main girl's father puts it: "We went from sheep to bulldozers."

Anyway, it's not any kind of great movie, but it does give one an idea of the status quo in Greece.