Open-ended Morality

 

Alps,  the 2011 Greek film, written and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (director of Oscar-nominated Dogtooth), is an inquisitive film which makes audiences question their own sense of morals and reality. The film follows a small group of people who take on impersonation roles of the deceased, hired by their family or loved ones, to cope with grief and loss. The hired impersonators are not simply ordinary actors filling roles in the family, but take on all the aspects of the deceased, including their clothes, hobbies, and even relationships. This notion in itself is utterly absurd and bizarre, but sounds like an interesting synopsis that could take many different pathways, which it does.

 

While Alps deals with a rather morbid and bleak topic, it also has many elements of comedy throughout, lightening the tone of the film so it's not completely serious. It does also include aspects of very graphic, sudden bursts of violence, which are confronting yet breathtaking, but add a sense of realism to the film and the business these people are in. The sexual encounters in the film range from comic to near paedophilia, as the one of impersonators uses her sexuality to seduce her deceased person's teenage boyfriend, which makes for quite uncomfortable viewing.

 

At times throughout the film there is much warmth and elements of true human nature come out, which make audiences question whether their business is as bad as it first seems. One of the impersonators reads to an old blind lady and provides her with the companionship which she had lost. These moments evoke such a strong connection between the characters and the audience, and the empathy for the people who have lost loved ones forgives them for buying into such an outlandish and ludicrous business.

 

Alps, to me, was a very unexplained and open-ended film, leaving many questions from the viewer about what was real and what wasn't. I was left wondering which aspect of the protagonist's life was real, or whether the life she lived with her father was also an impersonation. Quite a lot of doubt is left in the minds of the viewers as it is left to them to produce their own understanding and interpretation of the film. This aspect of the film was rather frustrating to deal with, and can leave the viewer feeling unsatisfied, but it also adds an element of mystery and intrigue to the film.

 

Premiering at the 68th Venice International Film Festival, Alps won an Osella for Best Screenplay. At the 2012 Sydney Film Festival it won the Official Competition Prize for New Directions, and it was also screened at the 2012 Melbourne International Film Festival, which is where I viewed it. Alps is currently screening at the Palace Cinema Como on the corner of Chapel Street and Toorak Road and may be found at other international or independent cinemas.