Alps

A KVIFF screening, from the young and talented Greek director Giorgos Lanthimos, a follow-up of DOGTOOTH (2009), which was a dark horse nominee of Oscar's BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR and I haven't watched yet. But Giorgos' eerie approach of scrutinizing modern-day's communicative malaise has its overt justification in ALPS.

Absurd, genuinely designed, full of fits of laughters about the mimicking set pieces, the film presents itself in a more comprehensive elaboration than I expected, although initially, it takes some time to figure out the real occupation and motivation behind the self-dubbed "Alps"group (maybe Everest could be a more befitting name since its the highest mountain on the earth and its irreplaceability should be more cogent than Alps as long as height is concerned).

But the wacky "impersonating the deceased"groundwork is not potent enough to sustain the film into a genius employment, since the demanding of this type of service and its viability to perform its presumed obligation (to console the next-of-kins' grief) is a moot question here, and eventually a win-win condition has to yield to the conceptual willfulness (in the film it is the identity misconception, a spontaneously unsurprising aftermath). But performance-wise, leading actress Aggeliki Papoulia is a natural treasure, rendering the eccentric antics much more personal dedication (which also includes an equivocal default of the relationship between her and her father, another Alps' case or not?), I put her among my top 10 list of BEST LEADING ACTRESS line-up of 2011.

ALPS is a patchwork piece, nonetheless, Giorgos' one-of-a-kind singularity alone could be singled out as one of the most intriguing and cutting-edge film artist to bring some mondo gratification to cinema nerds.

Whilst not without interest, I thought Alps was a bit of a mess of a film. Maybe the dark satirical humour was lost in translation somewhat because The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer were two of my favourite films of their respective years. The Favourite less so, so perhaps not just a language barrier. Dogtooth was a wonderful kind of weird, but still didn't hit the heights of Lobster and TKOASD. After seeing Alps I'm not so sure I'm a huge YL fan after all. What the hell was it about other than a strange cult where 'members' act out the recently deceased so as to help people's grieving process? I like weird, but maybe this was a step too far. In all honesty it was a bit dull. A strangely diasappointing 5 out of ten, but yet I can't wait to see what he does next now he's got a huge box office hit under his belt. I think he should cast Colin Farrell - it's bound to be great!

Alps offers another engagingly weird examination of the human psyche from co-writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos. Focusing on those who profit off death to show some of the darker sides of humanity in a cold, offbeat and occasionally uncomfortable fashion.

The core four (Angeliki Papoulia, Aris Servetalis, Johnny Verkins and Ariane Labed) are all great at conveying the desensitised personality the film is going for. Their sympathy always feels fake and they all nail the delivery of this very specific type of comedy.

Yorgos Lanthimos really excels at creating environments that are just so bleak, especially through their desaturation. The overall weirdness can be a bit too much here in a way his other films balance better but even then it's still impressive to see a very distinctive voice find its footing.

In Greece, a nurse, a paramedic, a gymnast and her coach form an underground group known as Alps. The goal of Alps is to help bereaved families through the mourning process by posing as the recently deceased. Run by the paramedic, the group visit elderly ladies, widowers and the like, keeping them company in the guise of the dead. After a young tennis player dies, the nurse takes up her role. Matters are complicated after she becomes obsessed; refusing to drop the act even after the grieving parents demand it. Meanwhile, the gymnast wants to dance to pop music, which her disciplinarian coach insists she isn't ready for. Will Alps prosper, or will the obsessiveness of the nurse lead to the groups' downfall?

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, 'Alps' is a movie both intriguing and frustrating. Lanthimos and co-writer Efthymis Filippou have come up with a genius conceit, which they then fail to explore as interestingly or as deeply as they could have. The narrative has surprisingly little emotional weight, constantly flirting around the edges of greatness but never quite making it. Scenes where the Alps members pose as the deceased initially have promise, but because Lanthimos and Filippou don't allow their characters to display any emotions; they ultimately have limited impact.

How can you create a meaningful film about grief when you don't allow any of your characters to grieve, or emote in any way? Additionally, there are numerous protracted silences in the film which- because of the aforementioned emotional frigidity of the characters- seem unnecessarily drawn out rather than intelligently introspective. Also, the sub-plot involving the gymnast and her coach, while entertaining, seems out of place in the grand scheme of things. It has no bearing on the main story; making one wonder whether or not it was included just to pad out the running time.

What was Lanthimos trying to say with 'Alps,' exactly? Some postulate the film may be an analogy about groupthink, while others claim it is some sort of capitalist cultural critique. The director himself has stated that "Alps is about a person who tries to enter a fabricated world," which doesn't really go a long way to explaining his intended meaning behind it. Ultimately, whatever message was at the core of 'Alps' is one so obscured by the confounding coldness of Lanthimos's approach that it's likely lost forever (on this viewer, anyway).

Having said that, there is a lot to praise about 'Alps.' Christos Voudouris's muted cinematography is attractive, lending to the proceedings a stark atmosphere that matches the narrative's dispassionate tone. His composition is frequently inspired, and some of his shots linger in the mind long after the credits have rolled. The story features much bizarre, dark humor that works well, and the cast are all great. Angeliki Papoulia and Johnny Vekris particularly impress as the nurse and the coach, respectively, turning in memorable performances despite Lanthimos and Filippou's scant characterization.

Yorgos Lanthimos's 'Alps' is a cold, calculated conundrum. As a complete package, it doesn't really work- though it contains scenes of power and moments of interest. Strikingly shot by Christos Voudouris, and routinely well-acted; it is not the creative and technical travesty some claim it to be. This is not to say it is a masterpiece either, for it is very far from that. Though Lanthimos has made much better films- 'Dogtooth' or 'The Lobster' come to mind- 'Alps' is certainly worth seeing; if only so you know you haven't missed the director's magnum opus.

Alps is a movie where tone was all there was to offer. Having seen it work so well in Dogtooth, Lanthimos seems to have neglected everything else that made it as effective and memorable as it was.

There are no stakes, there's nothing to root for, nor is there anything to reflect and learn from. Everything happens because the script says it happens. And if there is in fact something profound hidden underneath all those layers of vapid cynicism like the "art crowd" says there is, then the movie does a horribly poor job even letting us know that there is.

But not everything I have to offer this movie is criticism. Because from a technical aspect, the movie is more than competent. I actually found Alps to be quite pleasing visually. The camerawork was so expertly done that I repeatedly found myself acknowledging the compositions. And even the actors did a pretty good job with what little was handed to them. Angeliki Papoulia stands out in particular; especially in the climactic "break-in" scene, where everything interesting about it was her performance.

Overall, this movie felt like someone was attempting the most exaggerated Lanthimos parody with every one of the director's signature tropes turned up to 11. Watch it only if you must.