Suntan

(Argyris Papadimitropoulos/2016/Greece)

Kostis, one of the unhealthiest looking Greek men I’ve ever seen, lands on a small island during the winter season to take up a position as doctor. He settles into the quiet, traditional community and meets some locals one of which ensures him the summer season brings plenty of opportunity with women. Kostis is middle aged and a bit of a loner. During the summer he encounters Anna, a twenty something tourist when he treats her for a bad cut on her leg. This is the starting point from which he slowly ingratiates himself into her circle of travelling companions. Neglecting his practice he spends more and more time on the beach, drinking and carousing with his new found friends. By night he parties further and fuels an infatuation with Anna which is casually and maybe naively reciprocated by her. Not realising the depth of feeling he is nurturing for her Anna sleeps with him but when Kostis becomes possessive and angry she cuts off from him. Now alienated by the gang he begins to properly spiral into an implosion of self destructive and sociopathic behaviour. The final scenes are nightmarish and Kostis eventually breaks down realising how repugnant he actually is. 

On the surface Suntan is an examination of loneliness and a cautionary tale about awareness of whom you’re keeping company with. But it could also be taken as allegorical to Greece. Kostis is embedded in an old fashioned society, one stuck in its ways but one which values the community and its traditions. He abandons his responsibility to this community much as the plutocratic Greek administration has done to its citizens. Anna and her friends are young, modern and sexy. They live it up on holiday and Kostis’ beguilement with them destroys him. His unhealthy pallor worsens the more involved he becomes. It might be a stretch but I see a parable of the recent economic collapse as a subtext in Suntan. Outside of these musings it’s a great film that builds steadily to a catastrophic and unsettling finale.

(3.5/5)