A brief film review: “To xypnima tis anoixis” [2015 Greece]

Constantine Giannaris is known for films focusing on the disenfranchised and dispossessed of urban Athens, often portraying his characters in ultra-realistic documentary style footage. His drama, “To xypnima tis anoixis” [Eng. Title: Spring Awakening] follows a similar vein in that it is set against the backdrop of post-austerity, riot-prone, present-day Athens with all its social issues.

A scene from "Spring Awakening" (2015)The film begins at the police station where five teenagers are handcuffed and brought in for questioning. Part of a newly formed ‘armed gang’, they were found at the scene of a horrific crime where a couple and their two children were murdered in cold blood.

 

A scene from "Spring Awakening" (2015)Interviews with investigating officers offer us a glimpse into the group members’ individual attitudes, their family backgrounds, and social status. Coming from various backgrounds, we note that they could easily represent a cross section of Athenian society itself. The one thing they seem to have in common however is a collective hatred for any kind of ‘authority’, whether from domineering parents or law enforcement agencies.

Daphne Patakia and Konstantinos Elmatzioglou in "Spring Awakening" (2015, Greece)Two among them – Alexandros (Konstantinos Elmatzioglou) and Ioanna (Daphne Patakia) are in a sexual relationship, but after they join the gang, things get a bit hazy because of a range of issues occupying Alexandro’s mind, not least his killing of a cop who was about to arrest two of the gang members following a robbery. When the five attempt a second robbery, it goes horribly wrong after egos clash and latent hates surface between members and the hapless victims…

A scene from "Spring Awakening" (2015)The director seems to be questioning the society that Greece had become, its prospects for the future – particularly the young who’re usually the most affected, and the growing xenophobia amongst a population that feels let down even by friendly countries. While it is well made using largely new faces, one wonders if the screenplay could’ve been tightened up a little, especially since similar themed films are also the trend everywhere from Mexico to Russia.

Daphne Patakia in "Spring Awakening" aka "To xypnima tis anoixis" (2015)They may well be a sign of the times in which we’re living, but from what I could glean from the DVD’s subtitles, the nonlinear narrative could’ve been more effectively contextualised. The performance of Daphne Patakia playing Ioanna is nevertheless memorable. Recommended Viewing!

Amazon DVD Link [PAL]

 

The Nudity: Daphne Patakia, Marlene Kaminsky, and Adrian Frieling
Daphne Patakia appears nude in a number of scenes, and one of them is surprisingly explicit when her character masturbates in bed. There is also brief nudity in a scene that involves a German couple interrupted by the gang while making love.

Scenes of Daphne Patakia from Constantine Giannaris's film, "To xypnima tis anoixis" aka "Spring Awakening" (2015, Greece).

Scenes of Daphne Patakia from Constantine Giannaris’s film, “To xypnima tis anoixis”
aka “Spring Awakening” (2015, Greece).

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Compilation: Daphne Patakia, Marlene Kaminsky, and Adrian Frieling

Daphne Patakia nude in "To xypnima tis anoixis" aka "Spring Awakening" (2015, Greece).

Daphne Patakia nude in “To xypnima tis anoixis” aka “Spring Awakening” (2015, Greece).

 

Download Links:
Mirror 1 | Mirror 2

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9 Responses to A brief film review: “To xypnima tis anoixis” [2015 Greece]

  1. ekvilaattori says:

    Thank you!

  2. bud says:

    Thanks, but the video doesn’t seem to work. The sound is ok as far as i can tell byt the images are white blank.

    • TR says:

      If you can watch everything else from the site except this, perhaps your download was corrupted or incomplete. The ul.to links were downloaded and tested before posting.

      If you have problems with all videos in the site:
      – go to mpc-hc.org and install Media Player Classic, or
      – go to videolan.org/’vlc and install VLC media player.

      These are free, reliable players, and include most of the codecs you’ll ever need.
      .

  3. brains99 says:

    Just FYI, I am using VLC, I also downloaded it twice. It still does not play.

  4. TR says:

    I’m puzzled why some can’t view it. The codecs are the same I’ve been using for several years – if you can play the other videos, you should be able to play this too. I’ve tried both mirrors and they’re playing fine in my PC. I think your downloads are either not complete or your particular OS has made changes to your default video settings. The only other suggestion I can make is installing/reinstalling the VLC/MPC players and if necessary the K-Lite codec packs if they’re still available.

    PS: It might not play if Windows Media Player is your default player and if you’ve asked VLC/MPC to use WMP’s codecs.
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  5. wda258 says:

    I’m using VLC and the video works fine for me.

  6. signal says:

    I can view the clip, but VLC’s Image Adjustments don’t work, so for example I can’t brighten the video.

  7. salpeter says:

    Thank you, great video.

  8. jacob says:

    I am not very tech savvy so I am clueless as to how to do any of the things everyone else is apparently more capable of, however, I’ve always pursued buying the movie, outright, if possible. As ubiquitous and imposing a corporation as Amazon is, I’m often frustrated at the dearth of movies available there. I have found the solution! I just went to my go-to source and bought myself a dvd copy of this very film

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