Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
Xenia is a drama set in Greece about two brothers looking for their father to prove their Greek citizenship.
The film opens with Dany (Kostas Nikouli) leaning back as an older man in a lab coat kisses his stomach, making his way lower. When Dany notices his rabbit and picks it up, the man stops and suggests they meet the next day. But Danny can’t make it because he’s going away on business and will call him when he gets back. Dany then requests an advance, which the man pays. He asks if Dany is still experiencing the “spells” he’d told him about. Dany says that he’s fine, then leaves.
Dany goes to Athens, where he meets up with his older brother, Ody (Nikos Gelia), who is about to turn eighteen. Ody tells him to go back home, but Dany says he can’t because their mother is dead. She took some pills and drank too much.
They go back to Ody’s apartment, where they argue about their mother, how their father left them, and how Ody was sent to live with her uncle when he was fourteen. Ody also mentions that Dany is sixteen and should not be carrying a rabbit. As they continue to argue, Ody tells Dany that their mother, who is Albanian, lost her residence permit, and because of that he could be deported in a few days.
Danny mentions that their mother’s friend, Tassos (Aggelos Papadimitriou), found out that their father had changed his name and is now married. All they need to do is find him and get a DNA test to prove that they’re half Greek and can remain Greek citizens.
So, Dany and Ody go from Athens to Thessaloniki to find their father.
Some Thoughts:
At 128 minutes, Xenia feels a bit long in the tooth. Too much time is spent on side stories that don’t advance the main plot. For instance, there’s an entire storyline that involves Dany getting arrested that goes nowhere. Also, Dany’s “spells” are never fully explained, nor do they enhance the story.
When Ody and Dany meet Tassos, the film feels as if it’s about to get more outrageous. But sadly, Tassos’s story is quickly tossed to the side once he fulfills his obligation to the plot.
The acting overall is good. Gelia and Nikouli work well together and make their characters believable. My biggest problem with them is that neither look their age. There are also some scenes with Dany that made me uncomfortable when I realized how old his character is.
The Final Verdict:
Xenia would have been a better film if the run time had been cut down to 90 minutes. While the acting is decent, the story gets bogged down with plotlines that go nowhere.
