VANCOVER GREEK FILM FESTIVAL 2022 | FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT: Athina Rachel Tsangari Keeps It Weird with "Attenberg" and "Chevalier"

There is a moment early in Chevalier in which Makis Papadimitriou’s character, Dimitris, attempts to prove his worth by showing off how long he can hold his breath. “My lungs are much better than my brother’s,” he explains before handing a timer over to his want-to-be diving instructor. When the timer begins Dimitris takes a huge gulp of air. Papadimitriou’s face writhes and wiggles as he struggles to contain the air. After a short 18 seconds, he exhales. He stares bright-eyed at the timer, then without even a hint of humor in his voice, proudly exclaims, “Once I got to 22.”

And I’m not overexaggerating when I say, the audience in my theatre erupted in laughter.

That moment, perfectly embodied by the controlled cadence and composure of Makis Papadimitriou, encapsulates what Athina Rachel Tsangari does so well. Tsangari, a filmmaker, longtime producer for Yorgos Lanthimos, and pioneer of the Greek Weird Wave, is a 21st century master of deadpan humor. And she has to be to stand out in Hellenic cinema today.

Though far from the top of mind for most cinephiles, Greece has both a storied and unique history of film. Of course, the arts can be traced back to open-air theatre in the Mediterranean country, but Greece’s more contemporary art forms are often under-recognized outside of the nation today. That may be because that deadpan form of comedy so prevalent in Greek film is monopolized by one man, the aforementioned Lanthimos.

But Athina Rachel Tsangari, director behind Attenberg (2010) and Chevalier (2015), not to mention the wickedly weird short film The Capsule (2012), has shown she deserves to be mentioned alongside her friend and colleague.

Attenberg, a winner at both Cannes and the Hellenic Academy Awards, is a slow and silly examination of a young woman as she explores her sexuality, while reconciling with a decline in her father’s health. It is a careful balancing act, one not often found in Western comedies - a 90 minute Freudian slip levied against a practically asexual main character. It is seductive and entirely unsexy at the same time. And while I found certain aspects of the story uninteresting and the world-building nonexistent, Attenberg is buoyed by a stellar main performance from Ariane Labed and a droll script.

Tsangari makes a marked improvement in her next feature film, Chevalier, which is genuinely one of the funniest movies of the last decade. The filmmaker elevates her game in every conceivable way with this 2015 comedy. Chevalier is a single location comedy that follows six men on a yacht as they compete in any and everything, in hopes of being crowned the “Best Overall.” Yet another carefully balanced scale, Chevalier weighs its over dramatic exhibition of toxic masculinity against a cast of men who deliver side-splitting lines without cracking a smile. But Tsangari, always a muse with her pen, shines beyond the writing here. Her direction, camera work, needle-drops all operate at an expert level; and, the performances she is able to get from her cast are of the best ensemble executions in recent memory. Chevalier is a perfect pairing of the Weird Wave style and a well-paced plot.

At this point in time, Chevalier is seven years old and Attenberg is nearly twice that. Though these films aren’t exactly new, they’re contemporary Greek filmmaking worthy of rekindled attention. With an ever-increasing turn towards dry humor and world cinema alike (look as far as a new Nathan Fielder HBO series and the rise of streamers like Criterion Channel and Mubi), the work of Athina Rachel Tsangari may become more popular than ever. It’s a deserved path for Tsangari, one of the weirdest and funniest filmmakers Greece has to offer.

Attenberg

6/12 ForReel Score | 2.5/5 Starrs

Chevalier

10/12 ForReel Score | 4/5 Stars

MoviesTodd PengellyJune 19, 2022athena rachel tsangari, attenberg, chevalier, vancouver greek film festival, vgff 2022, movie review, 6 out of 12, 10 out of 12, 2.5 stars, 4 starsComment