"Buff and barely eighteen, Sasha lives with his mother and father in a Kazakhstan immigrant settlement on the outskirts of Athens. At night, he and his teenaged friends rollerblade through the city, where they hang out in brothels and work as male prostitutes. Every day they endure an obstacle course of johns, drug dealers, pimps and gangsters, as they try desperately to survive in a country that is not their own," according to the DVD sleeve summary. The cover notes this film, re-titled "From the Edge of the City" for English language viewers, was the "Official 'Academy Awards' entry from Greece" in the foreign film category. Understandably unrevealed is the fact that it was not, finally, nominated. It did well on the film festival circuit, however.
The film is artfully done, by writer/director Constantine Giannaris, with shaky camera shots, documentary-style interruptions, and bisexual subject matter. Star protagonist Stathis Papadopoulos (as Rosso "Sasha" Pond) handles the acting assignment very well, but he isn't given a character with much focus. After five years of tricking and drugs, one tends to spend a few minutes looking a little ragged, but Mr. Papadopoulos is always fresh-faced and perfectly toned. His chiseled chest is prominently displayed, but he reveals little explicit. The parents look ragged, though. Possibly, the key is that young "Sasha" never totally lived the street life, but just dabbled there to pal around for a quick buzz, sex, and cash. He keeps his nose clean, too.
****** Apo tin akri tis polis (11/20/98) Constantine Giannaris ~ Stathis Papadopoulos, Theodora Tzimou, Dimitris Papoulidis, Panayiotis Hartomatzidis
The film is artfully done, by writer/director Constantine Giannaris, with shaky camera shots, documentary-style interruptions, and bisexual subject matter. Star protagonist Stathis Papadopoulos (as Rosso "Sasha" Pond) handles the acting assignment very well, but he isn't given a character with much focus. After five years of tricking and drugs, one tends to spend a few minutes looking a little ragged, but Mr. Papadopoulos is always fresh-faced and perfectly toned. His chiseled chest is prominently displayed, but he reveals little explicit. The parents look ragged, though. Possibly, the key is that young "Sasha" never totally lived the street life, but just dabbled there to pal around for a quick buzz, sex, and cash. He keeps his nose clean, too.
****** Apo tin akri tis polis (11/20/98) Constantine Giannaris ~ Stathis Papadopoulos, Theodora Tzimou, Dimitris Papoulidis, Panayiotis Hartomatzidis