The Summer with Carmen

The Summer with Carmen (Το καλοκαίρι της Κάρμεν), dir. Zacharias Mavroeidis, 2023 Greece, 106 min., in Greek with English subtitles. Note also that, in this print, the title cards inserted throughout the film are in English only. 💖

Thursday, June 20, 2024, 8:30 PM, Roxie

This wonderful comedy is in Greek (Κάνω τις διακοπές μου!), so I think you may find it helpful to know just a few translations and place names (don’t worry — I promise, no spoilers!).

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  The Summer with Carmen
  Demosthenis & Nikitas

  ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ (tattoo): Come and take them
• “nay” (ναι): yes (very confusing to English speakers!)
• «Αδερφές» (Aderfés): “Sissies” (a play by Nikitas)
• Kastellórizo (Καστελλόριζο): Greek island way to the east, just a mile from the Turkish mainland
• Erétria (Ερέτρια): resort town north of Athens, not to be confused with Eritrea in East Africa
• ΜΟΝΕΜΒΑΣΙΑ (Monemvasia): resort off the Peloponnesos, south of Athens, 6th-century fortress city
• Andros (Άνδρος): the next island north of Mykonos

The Summer with Carmen
Panos, Carmen, Demosthenis

We start the film with two guys at a very rocky gay nude beach, and a title card presenting the Golden Rules of Screenwriting: (1) Every movie has 3 acts; (2) every movie has a hero; (3) Every hero has a goal; (4) Every hero changes in pursuit of his goal. We are then introduced to the hero, Demosthenis, a 33-year-old former actor, and his friend Nikitas, a 27-year-old former actor. Nikitas is meant to be pitching a film idea (for a “fun, sexy, Greek, low-budget” movie) to a producer, but he’s having trouble getting anything down on paper. Demosthenis suggests the story of the summer with Carmen, and then the rest of the film is Demosthenis and Nikitas (note: rainbow hair in present, natural brown hair in flashbacks) fleshing out the idea for the film as other parts of their lives go on around them, jumping back and forth between the present day and flashbacks of the summer two years prior.

The story within the story revolves around Demosthenis’ ex, Panos, and his dog Carmen, and I’ll just say that there is definitely material there for a film script. In the course of writing the story, the lines between the writers and the characters frequently blurs, but eventually the hero’s arc is complete. The story within a story angle begins to feel like standing between two mirror walls, losing track of what is the reflection of the reflection of the reflection, but it always circles back to earth, with humor and heart to spare. I absolutely loved this film, definitely a MUST SEE, and am glad to see that it has been picked up for streaming in the United States and elsewhere. If you get a chance, go see this film!

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