Notias Page #3

Winter 1975.

He comes home late, he stays up

all night writing weird stuff.

- And where does he go?

- To the movies! Where else?

He spends all his time

in the dark like rats do!

- Does he have any friends?

- Of course he has.

Some long-haired

and bearded men.

He brings them home and

they force us to buy their newspapers.

"We want to change the world",

they say.

They lock themselves up

in his room

and sing wild songs

with their filthy guitars.

- He's in big trouble, I think.

- Acouple of days ago, he said...

Greece belongs

to the Western world!

I'll get myself a studio apartment.

How are you going to pay for it?

I won't give you any money!

- I'll get a job.

- You'd better take on your studies!

Your father has been struggling

for you all these years.

- How will you make it, my son?

- Just like you did.

- Don't talk back to your father!

- Just like me?

It didn't happen overnight! I didn't

spend my money on studio apartments!

I'd save the money I earned

while working the hammer in Malaga!

You had a good time there, though.

Greece belongs to the Greeks.

- Is this what he said?

- His words exactly!

He is being very rude!

Sotiris, please, I want you

to take him to your studio.

He'll learn the tricks of the trade here.

You never know.

Send him to me, Thanos. Don't worry.

It's a skill that might come in handy.

How the hell did he get

in such trouble?

So, within a few days,

I had learnt the secrets of the

portrait, of the darkroom

and what to say to women,

so that they shine on the film.

Please, stay still

and hold your breath.

Don't move and don't talk,

until I tell you. Ready?

You'll become very popular.

You'll be adored by more men

than the ones you adored.

And your dancing will be

way more famous than Salome's.

Reed:
Insurgent Mexico.

As soon as we closed the studio,

I'd hurry to the movie theater

to see Stelios and Alice,

a couple of progressive intellectuals

I had met in the lobby of the theater.

The western films are just

an allegory of the Odyssey.

Their heroes wander in the Wild West

in a symbolic journey...

What do the cowboys

have to do with Ulysses?

Just like Ulysses in the oceans.

The director uses the wide angle...

- Come on now with the wide angle!

- For the villains he uses a tight lens.

All these directors were cogs

of a reactionary production system.

They were oppressed intellectuals

using allegories.

You underestimate the producers'

part in it.

The Capital imposed on the directors

what to shoot. They had no choice.

No! The directors had the final word

on what lenses they'd use!

Godard said that the camera's

position is a question of morality!

Their arguments taught me

that the old myths

could be seen

from a different angle.

I admired Stelios and Alice,

because they could analyze the film

without seeing the whole of it.

And when it was my turn

to show what I was worth,

I tried hard to impress them.

He wanders in the Amazon jungle,

and suddenly, he discovers

a tribe in a clearing,

where children see things

with a quite different perspective.

Where do you see these films?

In Alcyonis Movie Theater.

"The Third World Cinema."

Till the age of eighteen,

they see things completely flat.

Then they learn to see

like grown-ups, in three dimensions.

- Quite a reactionary point of view!

- How come?

The revisionists say such things

to their silly bimbos!

And then, we'd end up

in the tavern of Alice's uncle,

a meeting place for intellectuals

and aspiring politicians,

where she was waiting tables

for some extra money.

Baked beans, cod with garlic dip,

tomato spaghetti or bolognese.

Mixed grill, goat stew

and tripe soup.

How many tripe soups?

- Two.

- From yesterday.

An exciting new world!

They were talking about old myths

with a new language,

always ready and willing

for a profound analysis.

I would easily appear in the nude

if the role required it.

Stanislavski said that it's easier

to show a naked body

than a "naked" look in the eyes.

For the first, you have

to wear some cloths.

For the second, you have to travel

back and dig deep into your past.

Cheers!

Cheers, guys!

To the good things to come!

Who is that?

Efstathiou, a socialist.

The president's sidekick. He'll go places.

- Fill that again, please.

- Red of white?

Green!

We don't have it. No demand for it.

Take care of it. It's our party's color.

- I'll tell the management.

- You'd be good in politics.

Join the Party.

Tell it to the Central Committee.

He's in the kitchen, frying.

- Some bread?

- Yes, please.

It's obvious that he's important.

And when the actor's past

meets the past of the role,

it becomes

the audience's present.

And if someone hasn't lived

the things the role requires?

Oedipus, Medea?

In the Festival of Youth,

I stage monologues with actors

from the socialist countries.

None of those boys slept

with his mother.

And none of the girls killed

their children; it's a matter of talent.

Great art must bleed,

but in a different way.

Not in the body,

but it the soul.

- And where is that festival?

- In Cuba. In the summer.

The president said, our people

estimate that in the next elections

we'll be the second party.

Betty, how are you?

- Fine, and you?

- Can't complain.

- May I?

- Of course.

- How is it going?

- Rehearsals all the time.

Andrei's improvisations

are out of this world.

I have to tell you...

I'll play Jocasta.

Really? Bravo!

He said that I must go

to a drama school.

I don't know how to tell my parents.

Stavros, meet Betty.

- Hi.

- Hi, Stavros.

Betty is in the theater group

of the of the Philosophy Department.

Stavros photographs spinsters

for matchmaking agencies.

I study Economics and

work part-time in a studio.

Good. I'll come to you

for my portrait.

My mother keeps telling me

I'll end up a spinster, you know.

Nice to meet you, Stavros.

National Radio Foundation.

First Programme.

Weather forecast.

Strong south winds...

- Stavros?

- Yes, Mr. Sotiris.

This my first camera.

I was the first one

to buy that model.

I give it to you, so you

can learn how to shoot.

- Thank you, Mr. Sotiris.

- I'm lending it to you. It's not a gift.

And every week, you'll have

a roll of film, as a gift from me.

Here comes the Dean.

Welcome, Sir.

How are you, Professor?

- Good. Are the photographs ready?

- Of course they are!

- Very good indeed. Who took them?

- My daughter.

The colors don't seem right to me.

- What sort of film did you give to her?

- Professor...

It's the best film in the market.

This is the one the Americans use.

What's wrong with the colors?

Look how rosy the cheeks

of your mother-in-law are!

And the potato mush,

how nice and yellow it is!

We don't eat potato mush.

I'm not allowed to eat starch.

And what is that yellow cream

in the bowl?

- Tarama salad.

- Really?

Stavros, the loupe.

You're right. It is tarama salad.

I'll print them again.

You see, with the new chemicals,

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