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Best movie of this year hands down!

Best movie ever!

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Don't let the ugly poster of "The Small Fish" (aka "Stratos") fool you. It is an intense and dramatic portrait of contemporary Greece, seen through the eyes of Stratos, a contract killer who works during the day in a bakery, where he silently and passively witnesses the exploitation of workers. His life acquires another meaning when he is behind his car wheel, with a gun in his pocket and a mission to accomplish. But do not think that the movie is executed in correspondence with the dramatic intensity of his criminal life. Not that "The Small Fish" is a bland film either. The point is that director Yannis Economides opted to tell the story from the other side of Stratos' personality. It is really a problem for Stratos, that he has a very soft heart: he is giving all his money to Yorgos, the brother of a guy called Leonidas, who once saved his life, so that Yorgos can execute a plan to free Leonidas from a maximum security prison; and Stratos also sees after a family that lives across his apartment building, that includes a dying grandfather, a little daughter, a disabled father and a very young prostitute mother -who in fact could be the little girl's sister too, but who knows... everything about Stratos' concerns is dark or faint, while those who surround him are screaming, bullying or abusing everybody, including him, of course. He has a violent past and after many years in jail two mob factions want his services. This is just an idea of the main plot elements but there are more that complicate the proceedings, and it takes 133 minutes to reach a fine resolution. Without pointing out the national crisis, unemployment, breaking of moral codes, or unethical actions, "The Small Fish" gives a rich panorama of what a great empire as Greece has become in the 21st century, which should also serve as a warning to the empire of the day and its citizens. And yes, the Greek title "To mikro sari" (that is, the small fish) refers to the popular saying, "Big fish eat small fish".

The movie tells the tale of Stratos, a weathered hit-man, who more-or- less wants to leave the past behind him. But as we know from other gangster-stories, once you get in it's hard to get out.This is a very slow-paced crime drama. Well directed, with an impressive lead actor and good, believable cast. There are many well-composed scenes that create a desolate world, and one has to wonder how close to the real Greece that is. The only (but important) element that bothered me was the length, which is mostly due to an exaggerated amount of minimalistic long scenes. The story was compelling enough, I wish it was just edited-down a bit. But I respect the director and his vision.After the screening, here at the Ghent Film Festival, I've overheard someone say "this is like the Greek Drive, but at least Drive had style". I disagree with that remark and would not compare the two films at all.

I saw it last night with my wife, so it still plays in my mind.From the technical side it is completely professional.The sound quality amazing.The synchronism and the tremendous clarity of it creates an unusual impression of space where the viewer is absorbed until the last ,righteous moment. The story follows the laws of classic noir narration. So, though the protagonist is a payed killer, a certain ethic guides the story. The action is dense and not always foreseeable. All actors play naturally and very well.An unusually good film for the Greek standards until now, not a film for the whole family because of some strong language , but certainly a film I highly recommend .

Stratos (Vangelis Mourikis with impressive dark under-eye circles), an ex-convict, works at a bakery to hide the fact that he actually makes money by being a hit-man. Furthermore he's trying to free crime boss Leonidas from prison, who once saved his life. Meanwhile another crime family tries to win Stratos over to work for them. His only friend is a bottle of alcohol and his neighbour Makis.On the plus side, the film has some strong actors and solid directing. It paints a bleak picture of a desolate society which has completely given up on itself and its values. But the script lacks suspense and it keeps repeating the same situations over and over again. To be fair, there are one or two unexpected events, but i've found the movie to be very predictable, especially during the final act.It's by no means a bad film - it starts promising as a gripping and startling European neo-noir thriller, but unfortunately it ends up being too sluggish and foreseeable (at least for my taste).