SUNTAN: THE MOVIE

A GREEK SUNTAN IS TOO MUCH FOR SOME! 
By Sara Darling
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If someone was to tell me that there would be a Greek movie about a middle aged doctor who falls in love with a student twenty years his junior, and things go wrong- I would think that sounded about right..but there is nothing right about the storyline of this film. 

It's not an easy watch! Even though the scenery is very pleasant (it's set on the Greek island of Antiparos) the hot hot summers, and bleak winter, might be enough to warn you off. Students flock here to party, often naked on the beaches and clubs throughout the summer months, seemingly without a care in the world. Swapping partners like saliva, drinking vodka for breakfast and popping pills until the early hours.

Remarkably, the big-hearted Anna displays a soft spot for the very uptight doctor Kostis, and it is her attention which is the crux of the plot. Not being as streetwise as his new student friends, Kostis buys his way into the clan by stumping up the cash for drink and drugs which help him ingratiate himself into their hedonistic lifestyle, But his ulterior motive is to get closer to Anna, who he is becoming more and more obsessed with. 

You never really get to know the real Kostis, or why he moved to this remote island. His issues with women and relationships are not part of the plot. The only character trait is that he is sad, lonely old man. with no friends his own age. You see him teased by flirty Anna- as she teases them  all, but unfortunately Kostis does not like to be led on, and the final scenes of the film are the most dramatic. 

Hedonism takes an evil turn, and the film becomes almost unbearable to watch as the final scenes unfold. The almost likeable, character who you have been encouraged to feel sorry for, demonstrates a monstrous side which will stay with you long after the closing titles. It's not a horror, sometimes it's quite comical, most of all it's dramatic with a bags of bricks as an ending. 

Worth a watch. But not if you are going to take drugs and party with strangers any time soon. ​​

Available from Montage Pictures on Eureka Entertainment.