CHEVALIER

Greece, 2015, 104 minutes, Colour.
Directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari.

The Chevalier of the title refers to a particular ring, to be worn by the victor in a competition amongst a group of men.

This is a film which requires a great deal of attention to the dialogue. It opens with a group of men scuba diving and coming ashore to their luxury boat. The film spends some time focusing on the characters of each of the men in the group.

However, the main action focuses on how they spend the evening before they return to Athens.

It is suggested that they play games, each of the men evaluating the others in all aspects of their behaviour and attitudes. This leads to a great deal of discussion, a great deal of assessment, clashes rising, rivalries and comparisons.

Unless the audience has particularly focused on each of the characters, the way that the film moves and is edited means that the action moves from one to another and some audiences may not have time to really pinpoint each of the characters, their background, their personalities, their manner of speaking, their participation in the games, their assessments and criticisms.

A film for reflection and discussion – in the context of Greek men.