CULTURE

‘Red Sky’: A Cretan western

By her own admission, Laya Yourgou is strongly attracted to melodrama — past films like ?Country House,? ?Too Late Tomorrow? and ?Liubi? may attest to that. The director?s cinematic world often evolves around ignited passions and fateful encounters.

Her new feature film, ?Kokkinos ouranos? (Red Sky), is shot on location on the island of Crete and presents a bare, borderline-friendly landscape. This traumatizing place is uncomfortable for outsiders and imposing in its out-of-control intentions. The same is true of its inhabitants and visitors. The film is a Cretan western and a missed opportunity for its director.

In a remote banana greenhouse, two young Greek men befriend a German woman with Spanish roots. The emerging triangle of friendship, love and betrayal leads the film?s action.

Yourgou signs a visually looked after production with a pointless script. The banality would not be an issue if it was supported by the actors — with the exception of Apostolis Totsikas the others have been miscast — or the direction.

Nevertheless, ?Red Sky? has a sense of rhythm, cleverly chosen locations and identifiable actors, the kind of elements which have the ability to bring audiences to the cinema theaters.

The film opened in local cinemas on April 7. The cast also includes Orfeas Avgoustidis, Pihla Viitala and Efstathia Tsapareli.

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