Greek Film Festival: A Woman’s Way – Strella
In the film A Woman’s Way – Strella, Yiorgos has just been released from prison after a fifteen-year sentence. He checks himself into a small hotel and begins the search for his son, whom he has not seen in all this time. Strella – a tall woman, with long, thin legs and thick brown hair – is also staying at this hotel. She is a transsexual prostitute, and I just couldn’t believe she was previously a man – she was stunning. Strella uses the hotel when she is with her clients but has her own house in Athens. Yiorgos and Strella begin a relationship together and Strella invites Yiorgos to stay with her. Their relationship blossoms, the feelings and love between them believable and heart-warming. But when Yiorgos uncovers a secret about his son, everything changes.
Through Strella’s eyes the audience is taken into the world of the transsexual where we meet funny, lovable and unique characters. But Strella outshines them all with her honesty, compassion and humour. The acting for Strella’s character is natural and believable. Some of the sex scenes in this film are confronting but all within context. The transsexual life today is misjudged and misunderstood by many. I admire this film’s ability to clear the air and show these woman facing problems and dealing with life just like everybody else does. Through Strella the audience is exposed to issues of the rebirth – when a man becomes a transsexual – and the blurring of boundaries when it comes to love.
The story presented was a complex one which the director, Panos H Koutras, built on through the film. There were points where the pace could have tightened. However, at the end of the film I felt that the director was too careful with the climax and sitting on the fence with the resolution. Still, this didn’t detract from the importance of the film which was an eye-opening experience.
Koraly’s rating: 3 1/2 stars
