Chevalier at the 21st Sarajevo SFF

It is quite frosty on the  Aegean Sea...

Aboard a luxurious yacht,
friends are spending a week
of fishing and leisure.

To make time pass,
the six men decide to compete
in an unusual game.

One that would prove who is...
the most excellent man...

Every gesture, every habit, personal tastes
and even  blood
will be analyzed and voted for.

Once back at shore, the preeminent man

will be the victorious “chevalier”...

“Chevalier” by Athina Tsangari, presented at the 21st Sarajevo SFF,
enlightens male competition,

the bonds and the complicity

between men...

...tells about male worries and beliefs...

...about male sexuality,
about gambling,
about male sensitivity...

...about the strength of muscles...

...and male astuteness or idiocy...

...about male wellbeing or maladies...

CHEVALIER by Athina Tsangari is not only a film about Greek men...

...It is a colorfull movie about he human being with its arrogance,

about psychological blackmail,

about feelings of inferiority

(or superiority)...

A sincere portrait,

self-deprecating,

wise,

that demolishes prejudices

and preconceptions

about the common vision
on the alfa male...

A most unexpected and intriguing plot...

Where one can smile to the many circumstances

and the inevitable immaturity that emerges...

Where one can be so troubled

by the absurd tensions

that erupt on this yacht,

demonstrating that even
an unpretentious game
holds a strong potential risk.

When preferences and habits are examined

under a microscope,

a sort of animal instinct detonates

and gives way to a series

of small disasters.

But CHEVALIER is such a stunning exploration

of the male of the new millennium!

A male sometimes female,

sometimes "macho"...

...sometimes just a child,

sometimes terrified,

sometimes valiant,

sometimes on display,

and other times confidential,

sometimes noble,

sometimes damaging,

sometimes with a uncovered soul,

sometimes wearing his body as an armour,

sometimes in the nude,

sometimes dressed in spirit....

Between a joke and another,

no one will come out unscathed

from what soon turns out to be

a massacre game

with no valid winner.

It is a film breathing

with an undefined tension

pulsating

in a world of men,

aware of their

complementary role

to women...

....All in the same boat.

by Giulia Ghica Dobre

@21st Sarajevo SFF

PS: In Sarajevo at the 21st SFF the ensemble cast of "Chevlier": 

Yorgos Kéntros, Vangelis Mouríkis,
Panos Kóronis, Makis Papadimitríou,
Yorgos Pyrpassópoulos, Sakis Rouvás

won the

Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Male Acting.

and
SPECIAL JURY MENTIONCHEVALIER
Greece
Director: Athina Rachel Tsangari