No Sympathy for the Devil

It's really surprising to discover a film like this. The story is a sort of cross between Romeo and Juliet, Orpheus and Eurydice set against the backdrop of a squalid decaying city in which the only that shines is their love. And although the time is supposed to be the future, there is no scenery, no special effects.

The film is obviously shot on location in the seediest sections of Athens, from strip clubs and porn theaters to dark underpasses and all these, with the help of a extravagant black and white photography, create a strange timeless atmosphere, that could be a future but also a past. This dark dirty scenery is juxtaposing the ugliness and the cruelty of inner city life against the purity of the couple's passion.

Eurydice is a vamp-like waif , and becomes the obsession of an ordinary guy, Orpheus. But she is also the obsession of another dark character, police officer and something more. After his stunning debut with Antio Verolino (1994), Athanitis shows here that he has a magic cinematic touch driving us in a strange aesthetic and sentimental trip which is unique.

The film has something from mute Hollywood or German movies and at the same time rolls like a Marilyn Manson video. Really surprising, extremely fascinating. But what is the big surprise, is that the film seems to be set in the Athens of 2013, the era of crisis, as if it was shot yesterday and not some fifteen years before.