DbcultAccessing Vault...
7/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 7/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. San ti nykta ekeini remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, only watch San ti nykta ekeini if you have a soft spot for old-school Greek melodrama. If you prefer modern pacing where things actually happen, stay away. This is for the folks who want to watch people suffer in rooms with very thick curtains.
The whole thing kicks off with Marika, who is clearly bored out of her mind with her wealthy, uptight fiancé. Then there’s Giannis, who is basically the human equivalent of a wet paper towel, but she is obsessed with him anyway. It’s the kind of messy romance that makes you want to reach into the screen and shake some sense into everyone involved. 🙄
When the fiancé finds out about the affair, the reaction is about as dramatic as you’d expect from a 1950s script. He leaves, and you think, finally, she can be with Giannis. But Giannis? He just shrugs. He’s not interested in actually committing. It’s actually kind of impressive how little he cares.
Marika’s decision to just run off to a convent feels so sudden. It’s like she hit a wall and decided the only option left was to become a nun. It’s dramatic, sure, but it feels like the script just ran out of other ideas for her. The silence in those convent scenes is heavy, maybe a bit too heavy.
It’s not quite as intense as Hara-Kiri, and it lacks the weird energy you might find in The Lady. It’s just… quiet. It feels like a stage play that got lost on its way to the theater. There are moments where the lighting seems to flicker just enough to remind you that you are watching an old film, which I actually sort of liked.
If you like movies that feel like a dusty book pulled from a shelf, you’ll be fine here. Just don't expect it to change your life. It’s just a sad story about a girl who probably needed better friends. 🕯️