To the good old Greek cinema, historical periods or events have been duly honored with several films. The ones who - we would rightly say - could ως complain as thrown, are the elections, as especially in the "golden" era they were honored with a few films. But quantity does not always matter when there is quality.
And the films made about the elections managed to leave their mark (some less and some more). But there are two that remain relevant to this day, continuing to grow generations and generations. And unfortunately, the bad texts of the polar reality in Greece, which remains unrepentant for decades now, continue to scold.
"Jenny-Jenny" and "There is also philotimos" are two eminently political satires, which touch and denounce with the power of comedy the political becoming, the political mentality, the clientele relationship of politicians and voters, the endless "wills, the wills" political expediencies, services, waste of public money. In fact, they both came out in a politically turbulent period, after Juliana and before the junta.
"Oh, poor Gorcho, what dream did you have last night?"
Summer of '65 and Greece is experiencing one of the biggest political crises. They are the famous Juliana or Apostasy and it is the period of political anomaly, which followed the ousting of the government of George Papandreou on July 15, 1965, until the imposition of the dictatorship of the colonels on April 21, 1967.
For two months, July and August, Athens is rocked by massive demonstrations by citizens, who disapprove of the apostate MPs and the actions of the King. In the center of the capital there are daily incidents and fierce clashes between protesters and police.
Somewhere in the Saronic Gulf, on the beautiful island of Spetses, the shooting of her new film takes place at the same time. Finos Film, starring the Jenny Karezi, Andreas Barkoulis, Lambros Konstantaras and Dionysis Papagiannopoulos. It was a comedy by Asimakis Gialamas and Costas Pretenteris, directed by Dinos Dimopoulos. But "Jenny-Jenny" was not a mere comedy of the genre.
Clearly influenced by the political events of the period, he tries with a weapon the comedy and the inexhaustible talent of the protagonists, to cauterize what was going on, the prevailing climate, the ease of climbing ministerial posts due to kinship (the ignorant political nephew Minister of Shipping), but also the power developed by the learned party leaders, who influenced situations and people in their local communities.
The classic party leader of film and Greek cinema in general is Kosmas Skoutaris (played in an exemplary way by Dionysis Papagiannopoulos), who is forced to leave the famous Gortso and start a fight in favor of his political opponent, Nikos Mantas, as he was going to marry his daughter, Jenny (Karezi). Of course, she had previously been forced to accept the white marriage with the "digamos" Mantas (Barkoulis), since she had been blackmailed by the shipowner Miltos Kassandris (Konstantaras) for her father's debts.
"Jenny-Jenny" as a movie has its love story and of course it includes episodes that even today when you hear them, you laugh like the first time. Attacks that may seem simplistic, of the type (Oh, poor Gorcho, what dream did you have last night? »), But in reality they convey their own political message.
The film premiered on February 21, 1966 and grossed 587.323 tickets. All the protagonists stole the show, but surely the one who left his mark is Dionysis Papagiannopoulos, giving to the Greek cinema the party leader who was missing and who remains relevant.
"Mavroyalouros", the name that became synonymous with customer policy
«Andreas Mavroyalouros", One of the most popular heroes of the movie screen, whose name and what it represents, escaped the big screen and to this day is synonymous with customer policy, rusfetio and" eat, eat, eat ". He is, however, one of the most misunderstood characters since everyone stands by the "wills" that he generously shared and the arbitrariness of his close associates, forgetting that in the end when he realizes the "party" that takes place around him and he has no idea, envelops and then resigns.
The famous Andreas Mavroyalouros, in the movie "There is also philotimos" (exemplary played by Bright Konstantaras) is widely used by politicians, who are accustomed to accusing their opponents of "blackmail". In fact, the specific cinematic character, which generally represented the politician of the time (and prophetically proved to be timeless) and not someone in particular, was for a period a field of controversy between PASOK and New Democracy for its party origin.
His ignorance of what is happening in his immediate environment is normally outrageous. But when, during his visit to Platanias for the opening of a maternity hospital, he is confronted with the revelation of the truth, he probably likes him.
"Eat, eat, eat…", Sotirakis (Christos Doxaras), a resident of the village, tells him at one point, who, although far from the decision-making center, knew well where the money went. "No, guys, they did not eat. These things are done by the ministry, with credits approved by the minister; with budgets, with funds with receipts… ", he tries to explain to them, at the moment when the host bursts out laughing. The viewer bursts into laughter every time he sees the specific scene. But when he realizes that this is not a fantasy movie scene, but a sad reality that is still applicable today, the laughter becomes bittersweet.
In "There is also philotimo" next to Lambros Konstantaras is Theodoros Gruezas, who is masterfully promoted by Dionysis Papagiannopoulos. Gruezas is the classic party leader who looks at the interest of his pocket, using his classic cunning. And it is, we would say, the most representative example of a rotten political system that, for some strange reason, did not emerge as a role as it should be to be an example of avoidance. And, hey, the "curse" fell on Mavroyalouros.
The film hit theaters in December '65, shortly after Juliana. It was based on the play "Anomalous Landing" by Aleko Sakellariou and Christos Giannakopoulos, which took the stage in 1950, also during a politically turbulent period in Greece, shortly after the end of the Civil War.
Finos Film and Damaskinos-Michailidis' "There is also philotimo" was influenced by that time, catching the pulse and giving to the history of Greek cinema, a wonderful and light political satire that has its honor (accidentally?) Always in a period elections.
Beyond the outbursts, there are scenes that give plenty of laughter, such as the smudge that has its honor. There are many messages. There are people who, although far from the centers of decision, know how the system works, in which they throw a folder and from here the others go. There are also those who insist on voting, believing that the respective politician will solve their personal problem. Or the local.
"Mavroyalouros", as we said, is the most misunderstood character, as in the end he is the one who has the honor to take political responsibility and resign from his position. While he also has the political courage to send his fraudulent collaborators to the prosecutor.