Xenia
French film poster
Directed byPanos H. Koutras
Written byPanagiotis Evangelidis
Panos H. Koutras
Produced byAlexandra Boussiou
Eleni Kossyfidou
Panos H. Koutras
StarringKostas Nikouli
Nikos Gelia
Patty Pravo
CinematographyHélène Louvart
Simos Sarketzis
Edited byYorgos Lamprinos
Music byDelaney Blue
Distributed byFeelgood Entertainment (Greece)
Pyramide Distribution (France)
Release dates
  • 19 May 2014 (2014-05-19) (Cannes)
  • 18 June 2014 (2014-06-18) (France)
Running time
128 minutes
CountriesGreece
France
Belgium
LanguagesGreek
Albanian

Xenia (Greek: Ξενία lit. xenia) is a 2014 drama film directed by Panos H. Koutras. It was selected to compete in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival,[1] and in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.[2] It was the Greek entry for the Best Foreign Language Film award at the 88th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.[3][4] Xenia has won six awards from the Hellenic Film Academy. At the award ceremony, Koutras refused to receive two of them (for the best script and the best director) until the law on granting Greek citizenship to second-generation immigrants is changed.[5]

Main characters in the film are fans of Italian singer Patty Pravo, who makes a cameo appearance as herself towards the end of the story. The film features three songs from Pravo's repertoire: "Sentimento", "Tutt'al più", and "La bambola".

Plot

The film tells about two Albanian Greek-born brothers, Dany, 15, who is gay, and Odysseas (Ody), 18. Their mother, an alcoholic singer, has recently died, and their biological Greek father has cut ties with them a long time ago. Facing the threat of deportation, the brothers go on a road trip from Athens to Thessaloniki looking for their Greek father, and with him the possibility of gaining Greek citizenship. They are obsessed with the songs of the Italian singer Patty Pravo, and Ody, who has a good voice, plans to sing one of her songs in a TV talent contest Greek Star.

Cast

Critical reception

Xenia met with generally favourable reviews. It has an 86% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and holds a weighted average of 62/100 on Metacritic.[6] The critics noted influences from Pedro Almodóvar,[7][8] complimented the dynamic between the two main characters, but held criticism towards its long running time.[7][9]

See also

References

  1. ^ "2014 Official Selection - Festival de Cannes 2014 (International Film Festival)". www.festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 13 October 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  2. ^ Casey Cipriani (12 August 2014). "TIFF Adds 'Clouds of Sils Maria' and 'Two Days, One Night,' Reveals 5 More Lineups". IndieWire. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  3. ^ Ioanna Zikakou (4 September 2015). "'Xenia': Greece's Submission to the 2016 Academy Awards". Greek Reporter. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  4. ^ Anne Thompson (4 September 2015). "Foreign Oscar Submissions So Far". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  5. ^ Αγγελική Στελλάκη (31 March 2015). "Δεν παραλαμβάνει τα βραβεία ο Κούτρας μέχρι να λυθεί το θέμα της ιθαγένειας". In.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  6. ^ "Xenia Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  7. ^ a b Guy Lodge (22 May 2014). "Film Review: 'Xenia'". Variety. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  8. ^ Stephen Holden (11 October 2015). "Review: In 'Xenia,' a Fraternal Bond and a Quest". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  9. ^ Boyd Van Hoeij (19 May 2014). "'Xenia': Cannes Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 9 September 2023.

External links

Films directed by Panos H. Koutras
Greek submissions for Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
Categories