09/09/2023 - VENICE 2023: Zacharias Mavroeidis’ queer metatextual film about a film questions assumptions in the constructions of films and of the self

Yorgos Tsiantoulas (left) and Andreas Lampropoulos (right) in The Summer with Carmen

When there is a metatextual element to a film, it can often become a slippery slope: where should the self-consciousness end? The Summer with Carmen [+see also:
trailer
interview: Zacharias Mavroeidis
film profile], from Greek director Zacharias Mavroeidis, follows two gay friends as they try to write a film. While on holiday on a gay beach, aspiring filmmaker Nikitas (Andreas Lampropoulos) gets help from Demosthenes (Yorgos Tsiantoulas), who at first is little more than a sounding board for his friend’s ideas. But as they discuss the various rules of storytelling such as the three act structure, the hero who changes by the end, and the central event in each act, Demosthenes soon begins to take over the entire process. The reason why this might be is one of the most interesting questions illuminated by the film, which premiered in the Giornate degli Autori section at the Venice Film Festival.

With the only demand from his French producer being that Nikitas’ film should be “fun, sexy, Greek and low-budget,” the two friends search for a topic and story for a while before a woman on the beach and her small chihuahua remind them of a intense summer two years ago that could potentially make for a good film. As this fateful time period is retold through flashbacks, it soon transpires that even then, the two friends were working together on a screenplay that ended up being thrown in jeopardy by Demosthenes. Perhaps making a film about this experience is a way to make up for this failed collaboration — The Summer with Carmen is a film about a film, that is itself about a failed film. This is an amusing, ironic idea, but it takes a while before it really pays off and delivers something more than the simple, repeated thrill of meta self-awareness. 

The story of that summer, which the friends tell chronologically and whose key moments they use to mark the acts of their movie, centres on Demosthenes’ break up with Panos (Nikolaos Mihas) and its consequences. The straight-faced man appeared to take a relatively pragmatic approach to deal with his feelings and newfound singledom, hooking up with men on dating apps and hanging out with friends, including Nikitas, who offer their support. But as the two of them discuss those events, and question why he did certain things, Demosthenes struggles to come up with satisfying answers. One of his major decisions at that time was to take in the titular Carmen, a small chihuahua that his inconsiderate ex-boyfriend Panos got after their break up. Panos was dissatisfied with the demanding, scared little dog, and planned to give it back to the shelter; Demosthenes decided to take her for a while before that, even though this was only going to make her suffer more in the end. 

One reason Demosthenes seems to take over all the attention, both in this past episode and in the present tense of writing the film, is that he looks quite literally like a Greek god: his wide and strong shoulders, sharply defined muscles, thick black hair and beard are arresting. It’s something the characters discuss intelligently and dryly in the film, in the context of the gay beach but also in their everyday life, where the slender Nikitas complains about having a difficult time getting acting jobs playing straight people than Demosthenes used to, back in his acting days. But another reason why Demosthenes intrigues is precisely his apparent lack of self-awareness, or at least his impulsivity — he does try to find answers as to why he behaved the way he did, they just seem insufficient. 

This adds up to a film more dryly amusing than truly entertaining, where the idea that introspection is a bottomless pit is echoed by the film’s own metatextual structure. But while seeing the rarely portrayed dynamic of gay best friends is refreshing, this ironic perspective on the self and filmmaking feels rather reductive and, coming as it does at the end of such a playful film, strangely anti-climactic. 

The Summer with Carmen was produced by Greece’s Atalante in co-production with Argonauts Productions, Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation - ERT, and Athens Films Productions. International sales are handled by Be For Films. 

Photogallery 07/09/2023: Venice 2023 - The Summer with Carmen

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Zacharias Mavroeidis, Yorgos Tsiantoulas, Roubini Vasilakopoulou, Andreas Lampropoulos, Vasilis Tsigristaris
© 2023 Fabrizio de Gennaro for Cineuropa - fadege.it, @fadege.it