After stealing her husband’s money, a woman and her lover flee to a small town, but greed, passion, and a series of wrong choices turn everything upside down.
Even though I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: Yannis Economides is the best Greek / Greek Cypriot actors’ director alive. No one comes even near in the second place. He allows them to improvise to the highest degree, as he allows maximum profanity. This adds to his films’ realism and makes them unique additions to the modern Greek cinema, a cinema that, unfortunately, suffers from wooden acting and writing – even though I must say that, fortunately, this is constantly improving. No matter what, Economides leads the way.
Like every other of his films, The Ballad for the Pierced Heart is structured according to the narrative. The three-act structure provides the formula for getting from A to B, but the dialogue always prevails. Regardless of where the A or B stand, everything said and done in between matters.
The Ballad was quite unlucky. The moment it came out, the pandemic was announced, and cinemas shut down. Very highly recommended! It combines neo-noir elements with a Greek reality that is nowhere to be found in the Industry. When the end credits start scrolling, and the enthusiasm starts fading, one realises that… OK… certain dialogue and circumstances were a bit surrealistic. How much that matters? Not a tad!
Other than Economides, all his crew deserves a round of applause, as it does the brilliant cast: Vicky Papadopoulou, Vassilis Bisbikis, Stathis Stamoulakatos, Yannis Tsortekis, and the rest of the professional and non-professional actors who shine in front of the lens. Well done, everyone!
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Solidarity for all the innocent lives who suffer the atrocities of war!
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