I saw this movie at its premiere, at Rotterdam International Film Festival 2016. The plot is a really simple story of a disappointed 40-something year old man, Kostis (Makis Papadimitriou, "Chevalier"), who, while working as a doctor in Antiparos island, falls passionately in love with a young Anna (Elli Trigkou). The movie is set in the beautiful, yet crazy scenery of Antiparos, and it portrays its atmosphere and hedonistic frenzy in a vivid and realistic way. The drunkenness of summer and the liberal power of youth, as captured by the lens of Argyris Papadimitropoulos ("Wasted Youth"), are constantly being collated with the awkward phase of the middle aged body and the protagonist's useless struggle of overlooking it. The photography and visuals of the movie are stunning. Each frame is carefully set in a way that the characters inner selves are revealed through nature. The documentary-like feel of some of them serves as a catalyst in enclosing the atmosphere of the place through the unfolding of the plot. The body, and the ways we perceive it are also part of the plot, so be prepared for a lot of nudism and strong language. Makis Papadimitriou seems to be the best choice of portraying the disappointed, dissatisfied man who falls victim of his own passions. His performance is excellent, realistic and never over the top. Elli Trigkou is also convincing as Anna, and the rest of the cast seems to be carefully chosen. All in all, this movie is the vivid and painful hymn of the coming of middle age. A must see.
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markela-vicious24 April 2016
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folon200825 July 2016A film of vibrant innerness. A contemporary tragedy based on a "hero" straggling with his destiny and himself, but sadly, with a missing (in our modern times) Deus ex machina, a god that now, can only be partially restored by humane instinct. Yet, that very fact, might as well be considered being the film's ultimate message of hope.
I admit that I prefer to stick to "male" rather than "female" views of the scenario, if such a distinction exists, since I only have a pair of "male" eyes.
This is a story of a volcanic explosion of unfulfilled needs, prevailed by perhaps, the first and foremost one of spiritual nature: "Eros" (meaning in ancient Greek: being in love). Needs of a life, devoted to a noble and demanding cause (serving as a doctor), but apparently, hardly receiving any significant material or sentimental payback. Needs, suppressed throughout the years, probably underneath layers of patience, constraints, expectations and surrounding social indifference. Eventually, needs of a heart, permanently besieged by loneliness. In the middle of such an inner world of unstable equilibrium, "Life" itself, boosted by the Aegean sunlight and erotic environment, explodes in apocalyptic glorious reflections of bold nudity, lust, joy, freedom to the extent of Bacchanalian orgy and sometimes rowdiness. An explosion that tantalizes the ethical boundaries that hold this world together, as it triggers its pursue for love, happiness and reward.
The main character, Kostis, a doctor, disembarks in a world where he is expected to lead a flat, low expectations life of serving the poor local people in almost exile conditions (especially in winter). Half a year later, summertime (both actually and metaphorically) promiscuously brakes through his door in the form of Anna, a young liberated woman, determined to drink life bottoms up, along with her company, people of similar attitude. Anna, unaware of the significance of her impact in Kostis' life, lures him carelessly into summertime delights including herself and so, the doctor after surrendering to the temptation, inevitably falls in love with her and dives eagerly, albeit defenseless in the deep waters of this experience.
In the meantime, he is already under pressure from an increasing feeling of inadequacy, as he has already met, firstly, a womanizer and then an old classmate, now a plastic surgeon, successful in their own ways in Kostis' eyes. These are people, he could have been similarly as successful as, since he is almost the same age as them and of more or equal skills and potential.
Inexperienced in handling the psychological implications of his close intimate encounter with Anna, who seems to provide an ideal way out of his misery, the troubled hero is drawn into a schizophrenic approach of the situation, as she, initially ignores and later reacts gradually with astonishment, indifference and repulsion to his passion and clumsy efforts to persuade her into a long term relationship. The more his desperation and failure grow, the more he tries to bend reality to his needs and violent and intrusive, becomes.
In the meantime, starting from the days of seeking Anna's companion and as the situation grows darker and obsessive in his mind, Kostis slips into a more and more unprofessional and cynical attitude regarding his medical duties towards the local community, which in turn traverses the line from embracement to discontent, anger and finally, to his official expulsion.
Eventually, Kostis, submitting to his passion and determined to quench his thirst, finds his way to make his love object available to his yearning, though without consent. And then, exactly at the point of catastrophe beyond remedy, sense arises from the depths of his turbid mind to take him aback with an instant realization of the vanity of his cul-de-sac actions. Actions that instead of relief, lead everybody involved, to an increasingly painful and descending spiral.
Yet, no gods exist in our time to put things back in place and provide atonement. The "hero", an actually deeply sensitive human, is left alone in his desperation, stemming out of his inability to "possess" the woman he has fallen for, care for her and provide her with his love. Instead of all of the above, he unwillingly reverts back to the only limited practice and care he is allowed to exercise upon her, medical care, admitting, at the same time (as his crying implies), his defeat.
A lively cinematography with constant and absorbing pace all the way to the film credits. Vivid depiction of the Central Aegean summertime mood and environment. Sequences, completely successful in providing insight to characters and situations and getting feelings across. Authentically crafted and acted characters and behaviors. Credible representation of aspects of life in a typical Central Aegean Greek island, both during winter and summer. A web of events and encounters, thoughtfully selected and woven towards the final climax. Occasionally, easy but not-trivial pictorial symbolism. Presentation of inner and outer tension and unease in carefully measured doses. Directness without unnecessary exaggeration. Above all, from a watcher's point of view, a feeling of familiarity with a lot of the situations unfolding before his eyes, empathy for either or both of the two main characters, depending on his/her past experiences and their aftermath.
Certainly, a film to live with and discuss for days to come, after its watching. -
nickpeev20 March 2017First, sorry for my poor English.
This is one of the most real movies I have ever seen, the acting is awesome, it's so good that I don't know if the actors are not just ordinary guys and girls been themselves.
They say the perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add but when there is nothing else to remove, and I think this movie is all about that, straight and honest like life, nothing redundant. The one thing that can be improved is the soundtrack, something more like Chambao would be great but overall good job even on this matter.
If you ever been in love and ever been heartbroken if you ever been alive you'll love that movie, really love it, you'll hate it and love it at the same time. -
euroGary2 May 2017Kostis, a glum, middle-aged doctor, arrives with his pot-belly and receding hairline on a small Greek island to run the local clinic. It is winter and the island feels quiet and isolated - conversation for Kostis consists mainly of the local ageing Lothario promising him a United Nations of 'pussy' when the tourist season starts. Sure enough, summer brings with it hordes of tourists, and Kostis falls in with a group of twentysomethings who, when they are not partying hard in the local nightclubs, spend their time on the clothing-optional beach. They are all sleek and lovely (excepting one particularly horrendous beard) and among them Kostis sticks out like a sore thumb, but they tolerate him until he starts to drink increasingly heavily and ignore his duties at the clinic, indicating he is not as amusingly harmless as he at first appeared.
Efthymis Papadimitriou turns in a good performance, portraying well both Kostis' pathetic eagerness to please the youngsters and providing a nice line in staring-eyed obsessiveness. He is also brave, offering to the camera his doughy, hairy body which is in marked contrast to the tanned firmness of the younger actors. The other characters - both tourists and locals - are all pretty much two-dimensional stereotypes, with the exception of Anna, young leader of the group and object of Kostis' admiration. Elli Triggou manages to make her not too obnoxious.
As soon as Kostis finds happiness with the group, movie law dictates that things are not going to end well and in that the film is entirely predictable - and I found that waiting for the inevitable embarrassment to happen distracted me from the rest of the film. So I am not sure I would bother to watch it again, but it was worth seeing once. -
konskara16 September 2017Greece has hundreds of islands full of life during the summer but gloomy and melancholic during the winter. For us Greeks who work at the public sector, these islands are a necessary first step in order to accumulate points and someday maybe we will be able to work closer to our hometown where our interests lie. The middle aged doctor is a bit old to start his career from Antiparos but for various reasons that's what he does. He is strange guy. A bit of a loner. He doesn't make friends easily, especially with women. So here he is. A rainy day he disembarks on this small, windy, scarcely populated island and he tries to get used to his new life style. It suits him fine. But then, Summer arrives and with it, thousands of tourists. Young boys and girls, open minded, ready to have fun, willing to make the best of their holiday. The young doctor falls in love with a young woman but he seems to be a little more serious than he should have. He gets pushy, anxious,then careless and finally paranoid.
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I enjoyed this film all the way through. Its a clear, human, real life story about the life on Greek islands, which all over the year function as typical villages, and during the summer they turn into glamorous resorts of sex, alcohol, orgies, nudism, etc. During those couple of months, the whole island is at the disposal of young, annoying and irresponsible, mainly foreign tourists. Everything is on sale, since those obnoxious tourists'money means existence and survival for the locals. In that atmosphere, we can see a personal trauma of Kostis, a lonely, disappointed and failed man, apparently overqualified physician, who has suffered unnamed emotional wrecks in his previous life, and came to the small island to work, as a result of some random circumstances. Unprepared for the sudden and wild input of the uncontrolled young and sexy tourists, he jumps without any reserve into what seems to be a compensation for his dull, failed previous life. Here we can see a tragedy of a man who apparently wasted the best years of his life into a wrong direction, or simply, made an imbalance between work and life, ambitions and reality, or simply did not have enough luck, and, as a result of all that, suffered heavy burn outs and disappointment. It is a man who has not "lived life" at the right moment, and who is, even at mature age, incapable to act as an adult. So he misplaces his lust for a young oversexualized tourist Anna, who just came to have a fun without any borders , for a life-changing love, turning himself into a complete clown and even a perv.
It is so obvious to a viewer that Kostis sticks to this ridiculous attraction simply because he has a need to regain some meaning in his life, something motivating which would make him alive. The random appearance of his successful schoolmate as a tourist on the island shows us what he could have been, and what he failed in his professional and private life. It is clear that Kostis is desperately trying to compensate for that by believing in some heavenly love and relationship which could be an anesthetic for other flows in life. The girl who is young enough toe be both his mistress and his daughter, is so obviously a parody of the "life changing girl", just Kostis does not see it.
The film stops right at the moment when Kostis is just about to fall to the lowest point of the human being behavior. Luckily, he stops himself at the very last moment, and comes back to the reality. It is a little bit disappointing that in the end we did not see whether he has achieved any catharsis, or any personal gain from all the trauma he suffered. Otherwise, the film is recommendable because of its clear cuts in motifs and intentions, good cast, exciting plot, good acting and very good photography. -
What is it with the Greeks? When they make a film about their own country or their islands, it's usually wet, windy or snowing and set in winter and showing their countrymen up as sexist boors. When outsiders make a film set in Greece it's summer and baking hot. Argyris Papadimitropoulos' "Suntan" starts in the winter on a small island, (population 800), which may make the title seem a little incongrous. Still, we don't have to wait too long until the suntan lotion comes out and the Greek Tourist Board can start to smile...at least up to a point.
Kostis is the new doctor on the island and he has his fair share of patients for such a small place. However, one look at him and you can see he's not happy. Summer may bring sunshine and the kind of young tourists who give the Greek islands a bad name so it isn't long before Kostis is frequenting the local nudist beach. When he develops a fixation on Anna, a girl he has treated for a motorbike accident, he seems happier but we know his problems are just beginning.
You can tell from the opening shot there's going to be a heart of darkness to Papadimitropoulos' film. Kostis is the kind of sad sack whose very presence seems to conjure up bad vibes and you know that throwing himself into the local party scene can only end in tears. Very soon his reputation and his patients are suffering. Makis Papadimitriou is very good as Kostis but it's an underwritten role and the film itself feels slightly underwhelming. The scenery is fabulous and it will certainly make you want to go to the Greek islands though you may want to choose where and exactly what time of the year. You may also come out of this film in something of a downer. -
costas-8155615 October 2018Would have been perfect with a better and more realistic ending
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csantas111121 June 2017I was not preparing for something serious after the first 10-15 minutes of the film; after which my wife left the room, offended by the nudity. We are both Greek-born and were used to the old ways, though we were quite aware of what modernism has brought to Greek beaches. But the movie was not about nudity. It was the drama of a middle-aged man who had not tasted the joys of life, being glum and relatively ordinary. But a young Aphrodite partying with her friends caught his attention. The movie relentlessly follows his obsession, and if Nabokov invented Lolita, this story gets more intense. I would say the Greeks have learned something about tragedy. I was dazzled by the excellent photography and the gorgeous Greek island. Not an absolute masterpiece but close to one.
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deepfrieddodo21 January 2022A good portrait of a lonely man being pulled into the world of drinking and debauchery when his world is lit up by the youthfulness of a woman half his age. The development is impressive, the transition and slipping from responsibilities, it all makes a good plot, but the film never really changes pace. Impressions can be made and changed of the characters throughout the film, but ultimately it's just sad, and never fully draws you in. Certainly to be enjoyed by a particular audience, a far cry from the mainstream.
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jonny_4 June 2019This isn't a long film by any stretch but it manages to feel so immensely slow, the story is nothing new. An older man chases the affections of a young woman and he supposedly struggles with the moral dilemma of it. The acting isn't too bad, you don't really buy into Kostis being a doctor although that's more down to the script than the actor (Makis Papadimitriou). Makis does a decent enough job selling how meek and awkward Kostis is as well as the downward spiral he goes through. Elli Trigou is also pretty good as the free spirited Anna. The film does have some great cinematography, Greece is just beautiful to look at.
I have quite a few bugbears with this film, while the acting is okay absolutely no one could make you believe any of these characters were actual people. They don't interact like normal people, they don't converse like normal people. Kostis goes from seeing guys his age chasing young girls as odd and not his thing, to not only doing exactly that but going a million miles further. The idea that Anna and her friends would take any interest in the dullest man on the island being their friend when they're so clearly about living life to the fullest, is hard enough to believe. There are a couple of scenes that just seem to be in there for the sake of looking good, which yes they are pleasing to the eye but that is all they offer. The film does feel very ponderous, in another film it might be ok to have extra scenes for artistic value whereas in this film you just wish it would pick up the pace.
The ending is a weird choice, we've witnessed a guy who in the beginning you feel does have a sense of morality and is maybe a bit weak willed or caves in to his infatuations but as the film goes on he just behaves worse and worse yet at arguably his lowest point that is where he draws the line? To that point he's been so weak and easily lead into being a terrible person, he's even went more than halfway through a very disturbing plan. I guess you could say he eventually broke or reached his limit, but to end there... there is no redemption for the character, there is no apparent consequence for his actions. -
I have to say that I really enjoyed the way this film unfolded. And it seldom happens watching movies anymore, lately scenarios are predictable and repetitive, this one is none of these. The director did a superb job in building up his characters. The movie's main theme shows how desire can blind you to the point that you have no self awareness, where the central character becomes hypnotized and losses all sense of his dignity and humanity. Makis Papadimitriou who plays a single, unloved solitary man in his 50'sis, does a superb job. He is an older man who falls madly in love and although at times he had to be excessive, his acting was realistic and left me suffocating, wanting to get into the screen to stop him. The cinematography was amazing, set in a sleepy sandy little Greek island, a paradise, a place that we would all want to fall in love.
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stefkar13 July 2020Don't get me wrong I really liked this movie, the direction and screenwriting was great; made me feel a bit proud that my country is producing such liberating and artistic projects. However, as much as I liked the plot and the storyline when the movie came to an end I was left with a really uncomfortable feeling. Reading the reviews to find probably a hint of what really bothered me, I was shocked to see that everyone kind of "blamed" the girl (Anna) about what happen to her; but I am not here to talk about that... In my opinion, the movie gives an opposing feeling of what summer vacation is usually depicted in Greece and I guess this is what made me feel uncomfortable. Tourists come to the greek islands to experience feelings of carelessness and liberation, but the movie shifts these feelings into something completely dark and twisted. You never really know who you will meet in a place that looks like a paradise, even if that person looks completely harmless.
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When the story begins, Kostis (Makis Papadimitriou) has come to the Greek island of Antiparos to become the town's doctor. It's the middle of winter and the place is quiet and lonely. However, each summer the place is swamped with tourists wild, young and fun-loving tourists. And the quiet town becomes a hive of clubs, clothing optional beaches, sex and drinking. As for Kostis, he's a dull, emotionally constricted middle-aged man and seems out of his element when a group of crazy young people arrive in his office after a minor accident. One of them, Anna (Elli Tringou), seems to have taken an inexplicable liking for the dull doctor and she invites him to join them at the beach some time. Soon, Kostis joins this same group at the beach but he looks very much out of place and you wonder why they like him. While most of the bathers are young, tanned and naked, he's a pasty bald man wearing a lot of clothes on a clothing optional beach. He certainly is a fish out of water, so to speak. Later, when they head to the clubs, he goes along and, once again, seems really out of place and awkward. It really seems like Kostis is trying to live his 20s all over again but is ill- equipped for this wild life. And, in some ways, it seems as though he is totally alone even though he's surrounded by people.
Over the following days, Kostis goes out bathing and partying with this same crazy group of young people again and again. However, it becomes obvious that although he hangs with this group he really is only interested in Anna. She is interested but only in a fleeting way but Kostis misinterprets this for love. Soon, he's obsessed and eventually this obsession leads to a complete disintegration of his life. This disintegration is tough to watch and the picture is unflinching.
This is a hard movie to categorize. It certainly is not a comedy. And, while it seems light and cheerful initially, later it becomes a very dark and ugly sort of story. This does not mean that the film is badly made .the acting is quite nice and the story engaging. But it also is a tough sell for the average viewer. Of course the film has a lot of nudity such is life on many beaches in Greece. But it also ends on a very violent and disturbing note and that I you should know that the film ends with a rather vivid rape scene. It could conjure up memories of past victimization and is a bit tough to watch so viewers should beware. Overall, this is a well made film that becomes tougher and tougher to watch. Very well made, it manages to convey a lot with a minimal amount of dialog. It certainly is interesting .but also is not for all tastes. -
gripskate6 September 2019It is the kind of movies that makes you think that the absence of nudity would make it even more clear that it is not a good picture in terms of narration, acting, direction, plot- because especially in Greece people tent to take this as a criterion. After the first 15 minutes of the movie you can clearly see the intention of the story as a whole. The acting of the main characters is way too obvious and gives you the impression that you just don't need to think on your own about their purposes etc, pushing you on having no questions about their intentions, creating suspense for noone but the characters of the movie and distancing the viewer as the greek tv shows do. It's bad to consider that movies like this form the so called "greek cinema". Probably first draft story. Makis papadimitriou and Eleni Triggou are good actors but in this movie seemed like they were totally left alone.
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lotane-0566127 July 2022I have been watching Greek cinema since 2009. This is the best Greek film I have watched since then. Also is the best film of Argyris Papadimitropoulos.
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GiraffeDoor16 June 2019A hypnotic and rather enchanting depiction of one beautiful summer than doesn't end well.
It is quietly enchanting in the way it just shows inter-generational bonding as a nondescript physician and a bunch of youths live it up in the sun after a chance encounter.
A part of me wished they had been less candid with the nudity but i acknowledge that it sets the movie apart from some erotic thriller.
It is from the start a charming but ineffably disquieting story of how there is a lonely monster inside the seemingly most normal, professional people. -
mrmac-425614 June 2019The idea of an older man falling for a younger woman is nothing new in the history of the cinema. Our doctor is a man with personal relationship and professional failures who finishes up on a small Greek island just before Christmas. The place is dull in winter with really nothing around to interest him. Come summer and the place is buzzing with young tourists out for sun and sex. Elli Tringou is excellent as the pretty young woman who comes to him as a patient and shows an interest in the doctor as a person. The doctor's new young friend is a bit of a flirt. The doctor becomes smitten and soon is trying to spend more time around her and her set of friends. We know how this relationship is going to turn out long before the end. I didn't feel any empathy towards the doctor. He really should have known better!
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Skint11120 June 2017An unhappy middle-aged doctor is posted to a Greek island where he meets a hedonistic group of young people, one of which, a beautiful, liberated girl, he falls for.
This is the kind of film that puritanical, emotionally stunted Hollywood - and probably even the rest of increasingly Islamified Western Europe - is not capable of making nowadays. It's a searingly human drama about unrequited love, the consequences of ageing, and the depths to which a human can sink when failure and rejection become commonplace. It's brave, bold and beautiful.
Casually erotic (the actress who plays the frequently nude Anna could be described as cinematic Viagra), superbly acted by the lead (his character has to plummet to depths that are excruciating to watch) and unnervingly accurate in whatever scene it turns its eye to, it dares to tell a story that is as dark as we all are beneath our exteriors. And it triumphs.
The outraged person who gives this film 1/10 on this site hilariously appears not to have even seen it as they get a major plot point completely wrong. -
This film begins with a man by the name of "Kostis Makridis" (Makis Papadimitriou) arriving by ferry to the small Greek island of Antiparos where he is to work as the village doctor. Since it is the winter there really isn't much for him to do but six months later the island attracts numerous tourists which helps maintain the village economy. It's then that a young woman named "Anna" (Elli Tringou) is carried into the clinic by some of her friends because of a motorcycle accident. After a quick examination Kostis tells her that she will be fine and in gratitude she invites him to join her friends for some fun on the beach. Kostis reluctantly accepts but little does he know that his life will dramatically change afterward. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was an interesting film which captured the wild and hedonistic lifestyles of young men and women seeking pleasure above everything else. And to that end there is quite a bit of nudity-so viewer discretion may be advised. Additionally, although it is billed as a comedy I failed to see any humor whatsoever. Even so, I still thought it was an enjoyable film for the most part and because of that I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.
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paul2001sw-131 August 2019Argyris Papadimitropoulos' film 'Suntan' tells an unfortunately familliar and painful story: someone flirts, whether for good or bad reasons, with a lonely person; and that person responds with undue seriousness. The film's problems lies less in the fact that it's not exactly cheerful, but more in the fact that it's not really convincing. The central character is a doctor, but his personal decorum is quite unlike that of any doctor I've ever known; quite why a girl takes even a passing interest in him is unclear; and how he can deceive himself that things are ever going well as he tries to integrate into her crowd is also unclear. It's not that humans aren't capable of telling themselves stories, particularly where sex is concerned, but a story needs a seed, and this one seems to grow out of nothing. The resulting tregedy is thus not just painful to watch, but also a little bizarre.
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First of all, the goodies: perfect acting, perfect script, perfect scenery, perfect beauty. This is a 10/10 movie.
Now the warning: this film kicks you in the guts and you will agonize in the dirt for hours. You cannot help feeling pity for the forty something doc... and of course, for yourself... even though everybody has to learn the lesson eventually to:- let go
- withdraw
- leave the stage behind to give space for the next generation.
Coursebook case study of midlife crisis.
Unfortunately, it hurts like hell.
Fortunately... it hurts like hell.
It hurts like hell. -
asupergav20 January 2022Ultimately, this is about a middle-aged, balding, chubby male doctor undergoing a midlife crisis by falling for a girl half his age. That's it. That's the movie in a nutshell. She's a hippy type who hangs around with her young mates and seems to have a knack for teasing this man who falls for her big time. He becomes enraged when she doesn't reciprocate and exacts his revenge in a brutal way. This isn't a well made film. It feels more like somebody's holiday movie with very long scenes with not very much taking place. There seems no point to it. There's no moral in the story. And you will be very disappointed by the ending as I was. At one point the girl says to him 'I'm bored. Let's leave', ultimately summing up this whole movie. Don't waste ninety minutes you'll never get back.
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chrisbidis26 September 2022Mid-life crisis alert !
It's probably one of the best shot films of the modern greek cinema i've watched. It kinda gives off french new wave vibes but in darker and more dramatic way.
The daring nude scenes (spoiler alert: they are plenty) were actually well shot and and not provocative as we usually see in other modern greek movies.
The protagonist delivered a solid performance (knowing him from greek cinema and tv I wasn't quite sure he would suit the role, being mostly known for his comedic portraials, but as it ended up he went pretty well) I would rate the movie even higher if I'd liked the ending more. It was kinda extreme for my taste.
In general, i can't say i wasted my time watching this one. -
jim_skreech25 March 2021Kostis arrives on the small Greek island of Antiparos in the middle of winter as the new GP, an overweight middle-aged man with an unkempt appearance, a smoker and bad eater, and seems to have resigned himself to singledom for the rest of his years. This would be the story of a depressed rural doctor in an aging island population of 800, rather that the numbers explode during it's life as a hedonistic resort in the summer months, one where inhibitions, and clothes, are keenly shed.
Kostis appears to be a man that's resigned to life having passed him by, and the grey wintery weather he experiences on arrival matches his mood. The crude and sleazy Takis, the kind of man no woman should leave an unguarded drink near, promises that all is different in the summer, giving the disinterested and Kostis lurid tales of the sexual escapades he can expect during peak season.
So far, so normal, until Anna and friends, a group of young party animals, come to his practice, Anna with a wounded leg. Anna, thankful for her treatment, invites Kostis to hang out with them sometime, Kostis takes up the invite, looking for them at a local beach. Kostis, a lone male on a clothing optional beach in a bucket hat and zombie-white from high-factor suncream, is the first sign of things looking very awkward.
Anna and friends adopt Kostis as their friend and they have a blast together. They're the spirit of YOLO, what happens on the island, stays on the island, whilst Kostis is no holidaymaker, and will indeed stay on the island. He is anyhow having the time of his life with his new friends during this first summer on the island, somewhat at the detriment to his work as the relied-upon local GP. However, Anna's flirtatious attentions to Kostis, and their lack of perception and awareness, are about make things turn for the worse - Anna does not contemplate what her actions could do to the mind of a man lacking love and intimacy in his life, and Kostis misreading her attention as genuine interest and his inability to then let go.
I'm curious what the perception of female viewers would be, but being a man the same age as Kostis, this is very uncomfortable viewing. For this reason, this is why Suntan has stayed in my mind long afterwards - this review is actually being written as an effort to clear my mind. We meet Orestis, a former med school classmate of Kostis who he chances upon at the beach. This is the friend that was successful, married, remains in good shape, and satisfied enough with his current life, that he can look on at the kissing party next door with shrugged disinterest. He tells Kostis that this kind of party is not for middle-aged men, 'already did that when I was younger', whilst Kostis, clearly feeling his inadequacy, dreams of being able to join in with the younger, beautiful people.
A painful, excruciating watch, but a very well made film that will absolutely make you feel something.