UK Premiere

Short Synopsis

In a small village a group of teenagers grow up with dreams, prejudices, secrets and lies, eager to discover love as well as the whole world.

Review

It is the summer of '69 in a small, idyllic, Greek village. Young Achilles dreams of becoming a pilot but his friends are more interested in saving enough drachmas to experience the pleasures offered by Uranya, the local hooker. Events soon overtake them, however, when Achilles learns of the upcoming moon landings and is devastated to learn that there are no television sets in the village. Will the boys be able to save enough money to buy a TV in time to watch man set foot on the moon or will their raging hormones persuade them to give their savings to Uranya?

This is a highly engaging film told with considerable charm which not only manages to successfully capture the confusion experienced during the transition from childhood to adulthood but also illustrates how the changing course of history can affect even the remotest of places. The ruling junta has little interest in Achilles’ village until a visit from the US vice-president is announced. Villagers who have been previously regarded as merely eccentric are now viewed as potential subversives by the authorities.

The film reminds one of ‘Cinema Paradiso’ in its affectionate evocation of childhood with its moments of humour, wonder and disappointment. Similarly, the characters in ‘Uranya’ are fascinated by their local movie house, although even that is set to change with the times and the imminent arrival of television.

Alan Diment