At age 19, Stratos committed a crime of passion. He spent half his life in prison, where underground boss Leonidas took him under his wing. One day during a rival gang attack, Leonidas saved his life. Stratos never forgot this. A free man now, Stratos works the night shift at a bakery workshop, a far cry from the killing contracts he executes by day. He gives away all his money to spring Leonidas out of prison, funding an escape plan managed by Leo’s brother, Yorgos. The fulfillment of his debt is the only thing that matters to Stratos, everything else is indifferent and he lives detached, surrounded by ghosts and fallacies. The day of the escape, the most important day of his life, is near…
Acting
Mourikis carries 137 minutes with minimal dialogue, maximum weight.
Direction
Economides' unflinching long takes normalize horror.
Cinematography
Bleach-bypass aesthetic: Greece as industrial purgatory.
Director
Yannis Economides
Vangelis Mourikis
Stratos
Petros Zervos
Makis
Vicky Papadopoulou
Vicky
Yannis Tsortekis
Giorgos
Giorgos Giannopoulos
Petropoulos
Yannis Anastasakis
Stratos' Boss
Sonja Theodoridou
Jenny Petropoulos
Maria Kallimani
Woman in Cemetary
Popi Tsapanidou
Maria
Yannis Voulgarakis
The Lookout
Stathis Stamoulakatos
Bakey Boss
Omiros Poulakis
Young Lawyer
Giorgos Biniaris
Katerina's Grandfather
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released during Greece's debt crisis, the film mirrors national desperation through personal obligation. Critics called it 'the most Greek film ever made' for its treatment of filotimo — untranslatable honor-debt.
The tunnel construction scenes were shot in actual abandoned mining tunnels; Mourikis performed his own claustrophobic crawl sequences after refusing a double. Economides kept cameras rolling through his real panic.
No ratings yet
Sign in to join the discussion — comments are spoiler-gated to your watch progress.
Discussion starters
GR
