From the edge of the city

Country Greece 2001

Picture and details rottentomatoes
Seen 6 May 2006

The film revolves around a teenager's coming of age adventures in the fringes of society. Sasha, originally from Russia, is unable to hold a job for long and is always bickering with the father. His circle of friends includes those who do heavy drugs whereas he just smokes grass. His friend offered him some money to look after his Russian girlfriend while the friend is away on a business trip. The time spent together brings forth another side of him. Sasha decided to betray his friend but the final consequence is not rosy for everyone.

As usual the subtitles might not be up to par to convey the nuances of the dialogue. One of the disadvantages of seeing a non-English speaking film is the difficulty in finding the right words to carry the message. Some translators manage to do it brilliantly and the audience is swept along by the beauty of the script.

This is not the case here. I feel detached from the whole proceedings. The story line is there but the pathos of the characters does not illuminate the screen and we are left with the unsatisfactory feeling of an unfinished work.