Pity

As a lawyer’s wife lays unconscious, his friends and family console him. He maintains his daily routine and cries alone. But when his wife’s condition gradually improves, he slowly deteriorates. Screenwriter Efthimis Filippou is responsible for some of the most salient titles in contemporary Greek cinema (The Lobster, Chevalier). Here too, he deals with social rituals in an era of emotional recession. Babis Makridis directs his second feature film with a confident hand, pristine cinematography, flickers of classical soundtrack, and interjected titles conveying the hero’s thoughts—devices that open a space for reflection, irony, and humor, all of which lead to an ingenious final scene.