‘Arcadia’ Review: In Between Life and Death, There’s a Whole Lot of Mixed Emotions in Yorgos Zois’ Modern Greek Tragedy

As a film enthusiast with a penchant for the strange and unconventional, I found “Arcadia” to be a captivating and thought-provoking journey into the realm of grief and the afterlife. With its eerie atmosphere and haunting visuals, this Greek Weird Wave offering from director Yorgos Zois is not for the faint of heart or those seeking solace in their cinema experience.

Without the “Welcome to Marathon” sign, it’s evident that Katerina (Angeliki Papoulia) and Yannis (Vangelis Mourikis) have stepped into one of Greece’s peculiar regions – a resort town where they will investigate an unexpected demise of a cherished one. A thought-provoking and intriguing exploration of grief, Yorgos Zois’ second film presents a deeper dive into the Greek Weird Wave than Yorgos Lanthimos and Christos Nikou for those who seek it, but may not resonate with those who typically seek solace in cinema; instead, Zois delivers an experience that offers the opposite.

Despite its deserted appearance during the off-season, “Arcadia” holds an undeniable allure. This play metaphorically depicts Marathon as a ghost town, where the locals who serve the transient tourists may feel trapped in limbo. When Katerina and Yannis are compelled to remain due to a tragic car accident that claims what appears to be their daughter, they don’t find solace in a hotel. Instead, at Yannis’ urging, they move into the rental home where the deceased had been staying, hoping for insights into the events leading up to the crash. However, this decision only deepens the mystery, pushing Yannis towards self-medication with his prescribed medications and Katerina towards accepting an invitation from local teenager Nikos (Asterios Rimagmos Rigas). He leads her to Arcadia, a bar on the beach, as a way to unwind.

Despite everyone being nude at Arcadia not being the most unsettling event in Nikos’ presence that night, a teenager reveals he would have turned nearly 40 if he hadn’t perished in the house they are currently occupying. Katerina learns from another spirit that it is actually the living who are tormenting us, not the other way around. The zombie-like movements of people at Marathon give an impression that there’s little distinction between ghosts and their living counterparts; Zois portrays them this way for noble purposes beyond just saving on the movie’s visual effects budget.

Upon Katerina’s return to Arcadia the following daylight, an unexpected sight greets her: two souls peacefully seated together at a bar, despite one having been fatally stabbed by the other due to a land dispute. Remarkably, they continue their conversation as if nothing transpired. This mirrors a peculiar phenomenon where the weight of shared history binds the dead and the living, seemingly preventing either from finding resolution or moving forward.

The conceit works well enough because of the conviction of the entire cast, most notably Papoulia, the unflappable veteran of Lanthimos’ early features “Dogtooth” and “Alps.” Her Katerina experiences a greater number of stumbling blocks than Yannis, moving at a different emotional and physical pace than her husband, stunted entirely at times when her high heels simply freeze. Stark, arresting visuals — courtesy of director of photography Konstantinos Koukoulios — and Peter Dundakov’s ethereal score, with the willowy sound of glass vibrating, add a crisp chill to the film. However, Zois and co-writer Konstantina Kotzmani seem to withhold details for a big reveal that make it difficult to set stronger ground rules in the liminal space the film plays in. As the circle of lost souls swirling around Katerina and Yannis grows, “Arcadia” can be hard to follow at times.

Zois might overemphasize the idea that grief should feel strange and disenchanting, but his unique perspective offers thought-provoking insights about the afterlife and what individuals hold onto when someone dies. However, while “Arcadia” is fascinating due to these very qualities, it can also be slightly frustrating because it leaves the audience in a state of uncertainty, ultimately occupying a neutral position that could be seen as either positive or negative.

2024-08-30 01:46

‘Arcadia’ Review: In Between Life and Death, There’s a Whole Lot of Mixed Emotions in Yorgos Zois’ Modern Greek Tragedy

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