capamaroux-1

"Agoria stin porneia", a 1985 release by Omiros Efstratiadfis, one of the most prolific directors of trashy films, at a time that those films were at their peak, intended to shock audiences by showing the expansion of gay community at the era, male prostitution, the decline of young people and their tendency to juvenile delinquency. I didn't expect much, since Efstratiadis was devoted then making cheap comedies, and I thought this was an attempt to cash in on the success of "Angelos". Angelos was a gay film, too, but it was concentrated on the two main characters, while here social issues are examined (homophobia, conservatism etc) which can reach to political extend (the conservatives against the "Reds"). Michalis Maniatis is in a different role from Angelos, he is a liberal journalist who will face his homosexuality after meeting young Pavlos. The melodrama is over the top sometimes, and director uses a lot of cruel scenes to make his film grittier and violent. The ending is very memorable, too. Overall, I think it's a flawed but certainly thrilling drama.

This misunderstood film features a young able seaman stranded on an island, apparently inhabited only by women. They sexually attack him, and what starts to be a paradise for the hero, gradually becomes hell. The movie was criticized as a bad sex comedy by most critics and audience, but a silly sex comedy it is not. It's a dark, surreal exploration into the primal fear of man for women, just like it happened in Fellini's City of Women. It's notable that director Panousopoulos (who has directed several good taste sex comedies, like 'M' agapas?', and NOT 'Loufa kai parallagi' as i read in another comment) uses a thriller-style direction to hint that fear through the hero's emotions. In the film, there are a lot of spicy, hot scenes, an example of the director's ability on that kind of stuff, but the climax is rather disappointing. Overall a good, clever film that deserved more recognition. Maybe in 20 years or something...

This was a very boring movie for me, I have to say. There was no excitement, no real emotions, no passion... Just a fake dramatic romance, set on purpose during a political turmoil (any kind will do...), like so many movies are, without anything political to say (...fascist or royal regimes are mostly preferred). So what we get is a typical romance, with old-fashioned, TV-style direction and over-dramatic performances with extra schmaltz. Yes, exactly like a Mexican soap opera. (Mexicans, don't take it personal, but in Greece a lot of Mexican, Brazilian etc. soap operas are on TV every day). So, if we get so many soap from our TV sets, why should we watch one on the big screen?