Stratos

2014
7.1| 2h17m| en
Details

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…

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Also starring Vicky Papadopoulou

Reviews

Perry Kate Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
CommentsXp Best movie ever!
Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.
Fulke Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.
GeorgeEc Yannis Economidis, the director, started his career by doing something really extraordinary. Something new and daring. His movies do not follow the conventional rules of a "product" that has to sell. His movies have to say something and that's it.Of course sometimes this turns out bad, so Yannis had to do a few things for the first time. Like choosing actors with a very different approach. The team of actors were some well known and recognizable faces, merged with actors that are appropriate in a Yannis Economidis film. If I would be a director, I would have the same aesthetics as Yannis has. I love the photography of the movie. Starting with abandoned places, rust, dirt, same aesthetic as the incredible "dirty street light" scene for a few seconds on Soul Kicking. The sound is nicely layered to the whole film. Keeps realism flowing through the whole film. The music. Well I have to state that there is no fanfare without reason. It is simple and minimalistic yet it is solid and well fit to the whole feeling of the movie. I take the movie as a noir gangster film, that focus on ethics. Stratos is a really nice anti-hero. Well made, having a background, a present situation and finally a redeeming thing to do. The movie plays with the spectator's feelings. It is empty and silent, like a desert of Strato's heart. Yet in the end, it seems that feelings come back to life inside Strato. He is capable to love purely and that makes him do something out of his feelings. Strato's feelings got him into trouble in the past. Now for the second time his feelings will put an end on all of this, but the feelings are different and that is what redeems him.A full story, well made, with Yanni's signature placed well inside it. Yannis had to deal with the fact that he had to make something more... commercial than his art. He had to care about drawing people to watch his movies. It is irritating I suppose. But yet it is needed. The good thing is that he kept his character and personal signature of his movies into this one too. I would put a 10/10 because it surpasses every Greek movie I have ever seen, but i still expect more by the director. This is not his peak. So Yannis, I put an 8/10 just to make you do that leap that might make you direct an award winning movie in the end.Do I recommend it? Of course I do. But it isn't for everyone. It is not a pleasant movie you are gonna enjoy with your girlfriend, drinking cola and eating tortilla dips, no. Such movies, like "Το Μικρό Ψάρι" make you think and feel hard. And that is what I like about them.I watched "Spirtokouto" with friends. All his next movies, were watched by me into a cinema room, from a seat, just to support and show my respect to one of the greatest and most daring directors Greece has.
kosmasp If you lived a criminal life, it won't be easy to just step out of it. We know that cliché, even if we never actually had anything to do with criminal life itself. And even (or even more so) in a financially unstable country as Greek, there is always some interests to gain and money to launder.This does concentrate on a small fish (hence the title) trying to survive in the pond (to make the picture complete). It is understated and sort of mellow. But not mellow when it comes to the language. There is a lot of swearing going on and a lot of repetition. To a point where it gets annoying. It might be the world our character is living at, but the apathy is not appealing nor does it really enhance the viewing experience.Having said that, the movie is also violent and does quite a few things right. You do know where this is going (paying respect to some great movies, especially with that ending), but never achieving the greatness it set out to. A decent effort that clogs itself up, hindering it to really achieve its full potential
Dimitris-D It is generally a well-made film with an interesting plot, very good directing, and excellent acting by every one of its actors, even those playing minor characters. The strikingly empty, unpopulated spaces that predominate throughout the film seem to reflect well the inner emptiness and lack of feelings of the characters, and they are in contrast with the colourful, noisy scene towards the end, which I perceived as reflecting the fact that the last act of the protagonist was the only one driven by his emotions. On the negative side, I found that some repetitions were unnecessary and made me a little bored halfway through the film. In the last 45 minutes, however, the narration flows swiftly again and, by the end, my full interest was back again. Overall, the story is that of violence and crime that does not make you leaving the theatre with a grin on your face, but the more you think of it afterwards the more you like it. Certainly worth seeing.
KellekBaldwin Stratos (Vangelis Mourikis with impressive dark under-eye circles), an ex-convict, works at a bakery to hide the fact that he actually makes money by being a hit-man. Furthermore he's trying to free crime boss Leonidas from prison, who once saved his life. Meanwhile another crime family tries to win Stratos over to work for them. His only friend is a bottle of alcohol and his neighbour Makis.On the plus side, the film has some strong actors and solid directing. It paints a bleak picture of a desolate society which has completely given up on itself and its values. But the script lacks suspense and it keeps repeating the same situations over and over again. To be fair, there are one or two unexpected events, but i've found the movie to be very predictable, especially during the final act.It's by no means a bad film - it starts promising as a gripping and startling European neo-noir thriller, but unfortunately it ends up being too sluggish and foreseeable (at least for my taste).