A dark drama on Athens life strikes a chord

‘Soul Kicking’ draws large crowds

‘Soul Kicking’ is the second feature film by Yiannis Economidis, following his critically acclaimed ‘Matchbox,’ and was awarded the Greek film critics’ award at November’s Thessaloniki International Film Festival ‘for its aggressive portrayal of modern Greek barbarity.’ Playing in just two theaters in Greece, its success with moviegoers, many of whom wait in line for the doors to open, has been credited to the film’s perseverence in a tough film world and the buzz of those dazzled by its story.

By Thanassis Koutsis (1)

Friday night and cars are racing down Syngrou Avenue and the lights of the strip joints are coming on, but outside the Mikrokosmos cinema there’s a line of people waiting patiently for the doors to open. “Soul Kicking” had began playing the day before and on both nights the queue was endless, with people agreeing to stand up at the back or even crouch down in front of the first row of seats.

“Soul Kicking” is the second feature film by Yiannis Economidis, following his critically acclaimed “Matchbox,” and was awarded the Greek film critics’ award at November’s Thessaloniki Film Festival “for its aggressive portrayal of modern Greek barbarity.” The film was also selected for screening at the Critics’ Week in Cannes, and while it struggled to find a distributor for Greece, it had already created a buzz by word-of-mouth and on the Internet as being different from anything else produced recently in the country, a harsh record of daily life in Athens.

The film’s promotion was taken on by the fans of the director and they grabbed every opportunity they could to make some noise in its favor. Even local hip-hop act Rodes held a concert to drum up some support for “Soul Kicking.” At last it did find distribution, at two welcoming in theaters – one in Athens and one in Thessaloniki.

What is it though, that makes the story of the lead character, Takis, so compelling? Stella, one of the many people waiting in line at Mikrokosmos, says: “I am biased against Greek cinema... But I came here out of curiosity, because I had read so many controversial, differing reviews, as well as hearing very good things about ‘Matchbox.’ If I don’t like it, I’ll just get up and leave.”

The film itself is an hour-and-a-half of having your soul kicked around. The audience watches Takis suffering almost in silence (his boss humiliating him, his colleagues picking on him, his wife abusing him and cheating on him, loan sharks threatening him), until he finally explodes in the same silent, ruthless and desperate manner.

But, beyond the incessant cursing, the constant repetition of phrases that make poetry out of a toxic climate of humiliation and verbal abuse, beyond the strong performances given by Errikos Litsis and Maria Kehagioglou, what makes “Soul Kicking” stand out is the raw truth at its core. Yes, it may not be the best film made in recent years – it has its hyperbole, repetition and certain sense of caricature – but it does clearly express something many Greeks sense every single day of their lives. It expresses a society on the verge of decline, in which its adults are bereft of a sense of community, unity, trust, friendship and love. This is further said with the kind of guts we are not used to seeing in Greek films.

During the intermission, the foyer is packed with people of all ages and backgrounds. Most are looking at a comics exhibition that has been set up there on the theme “Violence in Everyday Life.” One young woman, Vicky, says what’s on everyone’s mind: “Isn’t this what we experience every day? I don’t watch Greek films because they have nothing to say to me, but this one is real. You drive down a road, walk down a street, and you hear all of this. But I also laughed a lot, even though it’s hard to stomach all the things he [Economidis] is describing. But, this is all part of our society.”

Just before leaving the theater, a representative of the distribution company said: “All of this is due to the persistence of Economidis and the producer, [Panayiotis] Papachatzis. No one wanted the movie; they thought it was terrible, decadent. Even when we took it on, we couldn’t find a theater – even the most pathetic theaters demand a minimum guarantee of ticket sales. What you see here – that we have to turn away 100 people every night – shows that there’s something terribly wrong with the production-distribution-screening system.”

(1) This article first appeared in the March 4 edition of K, Kathimerini’s Sunday supplement.