Review: Chevalier

Chevalier (18)

Greece 2015  105 mins  Subtitles  Dir: Athina Rachel Tsangari  Starring: Yiorgos Kendros, Panos Koronis, Efthymis Papadimitriou, Giorgos Pyrpassopoulos, Sakis Rouvas, Vangelis Mourikis

A film with no female characters that is concerned wholly with the male perspective might normally struggle to bag one of those F-Ratings pioneered by the Bath Film Festival. But Greek writer/director Athina Rachel Tsangari’s deadpan comedy is one of the most feminist films of the year, amusingly skewering male competitiveness, vanity and insecurities about aging and sexual prowess. Before you ask: yes, of course penis size comes into it.

Tsangari wastes no time in plonking us aboard a luxury yacht in the middle of the Aegean with a sextet of mostly prosperous blokes, ranging from early to late middle age, and their servile, watchful crew of three. The oldest man, who appears to be in charge and quite possibly owns the vessel, is a patrician gent referred to by the others simply as “the doctor” (Kendros). Also on board are his son-in-law Yannis (Pyrpassopoulos), hunky Christos (Rouvas), super-confident insurance salesman Yorgos (Koronis), Yorgos’s business partner Josef (Mourikis) and, bringing up the rear, Yannis’s portly, bumbling younger brother Dimitris (Papadimitriou), who still lives with their mum and is certain to be played by Zach Galifianakis in any US remake. Why have they chosen to take this trip together without their families, especially as there seems to be some serious needle between two members of the party? Answer came there none, though Tsangari slowly drip-feeds a little of their respective backgrounds where necessary.

An early fishing expedition lays bare macho rivalries before the alpha-male competitiveness is placed on a more formal footing with a contest to decide who is the Best in General. The rules are simple: they’ll all take part in a series of mental and physical challenges, with each man’s performance being judged by the others. Whoever winds up with the most points bags the medic’s coveted Chevalier signet ring. Assessments are made of everything from such telltale signs as ringtones and sleeping posture to practical skills like window cleaning and flatpack furniture assembly. Then they’re on to blood tests, virility, fertility and even speakerphone calls back home to determine who’s most loved by their family. Along the way, strategic alliances are formed and rivals’ weaknesses exploited as everyone sloshes through bucketloads of testosterone in pursuit of victory.

Tsangari’s previous film, the utterly bizarre Attenberg, didn’t get much of a UK release, but she was the producer of Yorgis Lanthimos’s brilliant Dogtooth, and her co-writer Efthymis Filippou’s credits include Lanthimos’s The Lobster, which places her right at the centre of what’s been dubbed the Greek Weird Wave. It takes a while to differentiate the characters here, which is perhaps intentional, and those who prefer their satire really vicious may be disappointed by Tsangari’s quietly observant approach and her film’s failure to deliver the dramatic fireworks towards which it seems to lead (perhaps in acknowledgement of this, she even delivers a joke about it). But there’s much to savour if you like your cinematic metaphors witheringly droll and bone-dry. Best erection scene of the year (so far) too.