Between Life and Death: Mixed Emotions in Yorgos Zois’ Modern Greek Tragedy

Even without the “Welcome to Marathon” flyer that greets Katerina (Angeliki Papoulia) and Yannis (Vangelis Mourikis) upon their arrival in “Arcadia,” it’s clear that they’ve entered one of Greece’s stranger corners: a resort town where they will investigate the untimely death of a loved one. Yorgos Zois’ second feature is an unnerving and curious meditation on grief, perfect for those seeking deeper cuts from the Greek Weird Wave beyond Yorgos Lanthimos and Christos Nikou. However, it may hold limited appeal for those who generally seek comfort in films, as Zois offers the opposite.

“Arcadia” is compelling at its core, taking the idea of Marathon becoming a ghost town literally in its off-season. In this transient place where tourists come and go, Katerina and Yannis aren’t in for a vacation. They are compelled to stick around for an autopsy after a tragic car crash to identify a body suggested to be their daughter. Instead of staying at a hotel, Yannis insists they move into the now-vacant rental home where the deceased was booked, hoping to uncover answers about the events leading to the fatal crash. This decision opens up more questions, leading Yannis to self-medicate with pills he prescribes himself as a doctor, while Katerina accepts a local teen, Nikos (Asterios Rimagmos Rigas), invite to a beach bar called Arcadia to relieve some stress.

Surprisingly, the fact that everyone is naked at Arcadia is not the most unsettling occurrence in Nikos’ company that night. He confesses he would be nearly 40 now if he hadn’t died in the house where Katerina and Yannis are staying. Another ghost tells Katerina that the living haunt them, not vice versa. People in Marathon seem to stumble around without much vitality, making the distinction between the living and the dead blurry. Zois presents them this way for reasons more admirable than just cutting back on the film’s VFX budget.

As Katerina discovers during a return visit to Arcadia in daylight, two bar patrons can coexist in the afterlife despite a violent history involving a land dispute. The shared burden of history forces both the dead and the living to carry on as if nothing happened, indicating a unique perspective on unresolved pasts.

The film’s cast, particularly Papoulia, delivers strong performances. She portrays Katerina, who encounters more emotional and physical stumbling blocks than Yannis. Her high heels freeze at moments of emotional stasis, underscoring her struggle. The stark, arresting visuals by director of photography Konstantinos Koukoulios and Peter Dundakov’s ethereal score add a crisp chill to the film. However, the film’s plot can be hard to follow due to withheld details intended for a big reveal, making it challenging to set stronger ground rules for the liminal space in which the film operates.

Zois might lean too heavily on the concept that bereavement is an odd and disillusioning experience, but this approach opens up novel ideas about the afterlife and the emotional burdens people carry. Nonetheless, “Arcadia” can be mildly frustrating for the same reasons it intrigues, leaving the audience in limbo and ultimately occupying a middle ground, for better or worse.

Source: Particlenews