Although my conversational Greek Language skills prevent me from effortlessly enjoying feature length films, I’ve found that the short film collection on ERTFLIX has been both interesting to explore and easier to engage with to help me improve my Greek. I recently watched ‘Pilala’, a film that initially caught my eye due to its Cretan village setting, and kept me watching thanks to its playful plot.
‘Pilala’ tells the story of Andypas, a restless Cretan village boy who finds himself causing havoc as he runs through the town, poorly completing errands for his family. The film does a great job capturing the picturesque village setting and showcases the local labyrinth of narrow streets that wind around whitewashed village buildings. As the film travels through the village though, it also reveals the many local lifestyles and relationships.
It shows the village men playing tavli at the local kafenio (of course all wearing black shirts), local boys playing soccer in the streets, and even Andypas’ family completing chores in their quaint stone homes. It is clear from early on that in this village, everyone knows everyone’s business. The local boys are scared of the volatile village shepherd, while bemused locals simply watch as the hapless butcher chases a chicken around the town square – clearly not for the first time.
Andypas’ personal relationships also come to bear as he disrupts the peace of the village and in response just about everyone is trying to get a different message through to him. The local village boys find him annoying, his crush finds him disrespectful, and his family finds him careless. Despite these external pressures Andypas is singularly focused on running as fast as he can, just like his hero, Greek Sprinter Konstantinos Kenteris, who’s Olympic feats are used to eventually tie the afternoon events together.
Kenteris’ Olympic feats emphasise the village’s isolation (underlined by the use of a petrol generator to simply televise the race), but as Andypas’ sprinting throughout the film mirror his more worldly hero, ‘Pilala’ ultimately contrasts village isolation with the universality of Andypas’ childish and innocent dreams. Andypas shuts out the adults telling him what to do and manages to escape his village life, even if just as he runs the imaginary race in his mind.
The story well written by Yorgos Papadopouls and Theo Papadoulakis who manage to tie early confusing elements into a neat and complete ending. Theo Papadoulakis who also directed film does a great job capturing the village lifestyle and layering the film with rich moments and characters. There is plenty of humor with the shepherd and butcher and great tension in Andypas’ determination as he sprints, ultimately, to nowhere. Andypas Damosidis’ performance as the titular character was also fantastic, he convincingly portrayed a cheeky innocent village boy who could understandably frustrate everyone around him.
‘Pilala’ was an enjoyable film about village life and childhood innocence. Andypas is a cheeky character to say the least, but it’s hard not to smile when recognising the hope and inspiration he draws from his Olympic hero, temporarily transcending his village life.
ehhere 
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