2020 ‘Μήλα’ Directed by Christos Nikou
Aris, a solitary man in his late thirties, becomes a victim of an unexplained surge of memory loss disorders in his city and is forced to confront his severe amnesia through an experimental new treatment.
Mila, 苹果的记忆, 无忘果
Pandemics come in a handful of different varieties — some we accurately diagnose, and some we don’t even notice. A highly contagious outbreak of coronavirus (to pick a random example) leaves behind a trail of bodies that makes it rather easy for right-thinking people to recognize the disease for what it is. Other global health crises, however, can be harder to spot. The ones that poison our mental health. The ones that disguise themselves as progress. The ones that seduce us into forgetting who we are.
Set in an analog and uncertain version of the recent past (or perhaps in a parallel universe where the iPhone was never invented), Christos Nikou’s “Apples” begins in the midst of a slow-rolling plague…
AFI 2020: film #14
“a lot of people have forgotten”
i thought i was ready for whatever this threw at me, but somehow wasn’t expecting a subtle character study. it feels like a yorgos, but with a much lighter touch, more reminiscent of alps than anything else. i was fully engaged with it all, but it still didn’t give me enough, ending as simply as it began. i dig this concept more than i love the outcome
(i do have to add that the titanic reference made me yelp because of how some of the dialogue is phrased: “i cried my eyes out the other day. have you seen this movie?”)
After a series of more or less efficient titles, although not particularly dazzling, Greek cinematography and its particular style guide seemed stagnant and doomed to repeat formulas without finding the spark that dazzled in my very humble opinion with Dogtooth. Films like Chevalier or Pity address essential themes with that singular aesthetic, although without really offering anything truly memorable and much less transcendental. The same direction of the actors seeks to dramatize the sense of loss of humanity, reinforced by some old-fashioned and impersonal environments, some resources of the theater of the absurd and a philosophical yet ironic air; a certain amount of black humor that served to crumble essential issues in the contemporary modern society of that country.
So,…
On the edge between nostalgia and melancholia, i’ve never felt so peaceful watching a movie... With an original but very relevant concept and an aesthetically mellow narration, this is in my opinion truly a tremendous piece of art
Btw if you’re gonna watch this, get you some apples first, you’ll thank me later
Christos Nikou’s debut feature, Apples, is a deadpan yet delightful rumination on memory and identity that has the austere dryness of a Lanthimos film and the absurd existentialism of Kaufman. It’s a very promising debut that is coming from a strong, fresh voice within Greek cinema. And for that, I’m excited to see what Nikou ends up directing next.
Apples is as quirky and bizarre as its great poster suggests, although it's definitely not at Yorgos Lanthimos' level. The story may be too toothless for my liking, but the effective tragedy hidden underneath its uneventful surface eventually adds to its charms and emotional strengths.
As a symbolic spin on modern loneliness, Apples is ultimately about a lonely man caught between past and future memories. With its daring premise of an amnesia pandemic in Greece, Apples takes a microscopic insight into the protagonist's new life, where memories are created merely as a result of medical experiments rather than genuine occurrences.
From riding children's bike, to purposefully crashing cars, the man without an identity, played by a highly restrained Aris Servetalis,…
more films shot in the 4:3 aspect ratio please! also this has one of the best posters of the year
