Kostis
Makridis is the Joel Fleischman of the Greek Isles, except he is much more
pathetic. He has accepted a post on a sleepy Cycladic island that only comes
alive during the hedonistic summers. Apparently, he has endured some bitter professional
and personal disappointments. Frankly, he is probably lucky to have this not so
prestigious position, but he will make of hash of it anyway in Argyris
Papadimitropoulos’s Suntan (trailer here), which opens this
Friday in New York.
Makridis
makes it through the winter without incident, because there just isn’t anything
to do. However, when summer comes so do the half- or fully naked cavorting
tourists. On her first day on the island, Anna Anagostou takes a nasty tumble
from her bike, requiring Dr. Makridis’s attention—and his attention she will
certainly receive. Initially, Anagostou and her young, sexually explorative
friends invite the nebbish doctor along when they hit the beaches and the party
circuit. Unfortunately, when he starts to take Anagostou too seriously, they drop
him like a bad olive. Of course, this just makes him resentful—and increasingly
unstable.
Since
supposedly every Greek film is supposedly a commentary on the EU-imposed
austerity, let us parse out Suntan’s
allegorical meanings. Surely, Anagostou and her nubile young friends must
represent the temptations of the Euro Zone, while Makridis represents socialist
Greece, seduced into renouncing his ability to finance debt through currency
devaluations. Or something like that.
What
is beyond debating is how uncomfortable it is to witness Makridis’s inevitable
implosion. Granted, the heathy bodies on display throughout Suntan would make nearly anyone over
thirty feel old, but Makridis is particularly schlubby. Seriously, he is a
doctor who chain smokes in this day and age. Granted, this is Greece, but
still. Regardless, watching him lose his head and his dignity over Anagostou
will make most viewers downright queasy.
Makis
Papadimitriou is painfully believable as poor, square Makridis. He follows a
predictably humiliating character arc, but he adheres to it with absolute
conviction. Likewise, Elli Tringou captures the vivacious energy and cruel
capriciousness of the young and beautiful Anagostou. In all honesty, the
contrast between them is so great, it is hard to buy into his delusions. Even
for a virile boy-toy her own age, about the best he could hope for under the
circumstances would be a little action before she left at the end of the
season.
