Film Review: The Palace
Screening at the Melbourne International Film Festival, The Palace, a Cypriot-Australian co-produced short film directed and written by Anthony Maras, not only received a huge applause, but it had me walking out of the cinema to catch my breath. I returned later to speak to Anthony and to congratulate him but then I came straight home to write this review despite having a million and one things to do.
Talking film and co-production I’m always a bit wary, especially when two countries are involved, but The Palace made the entire experience seamless. In fact, from the onset I was transported to 1974, Lefkosia, Cyprus, amidst war and turmoil. Usually when I watch a film, it takes me a while to become emotionally invested, to be living and breathing in the world that the film is creating. Not here though. Spanning a mere 17 minutes and inspired by true events, the film’s biggest triumph is its ability to capture and hold captive audience emotion.
But the film goes beyond this. So many films have been made about the 1974 war in Cyprus, none as short as this that I know of. What The Palace does successfully is sum up clearly and elegantly the politics that have been brewing over the island since 1974. It does this realistically, without sugar-coating. A young Turkish officer, commanded by his Sargent to kill a Greek-Cypriot citizen responds with one line that I’m sure will stay with me for quite some time. He says ”But I’m just a drama student…” to which the Sargent repeats the order and responds with “…this is where art ends and reality begins…” The acting was at a very high standard, and I found all the characters believable beyond a doubt.
Professionally shot, with a consistent pace, The Palace not only invoked frustrations in me I keep buried regarding Cyprus, my parent’s birthplace, but it watered it down, in the space of 17 minutes, how inhumane war is, and how, at the end of the day, it’s the higher powers that manipulate, and control, using young boys as pawns, in their bigger plans for Cyprus and its strategic location in the Mediterranean. Although I was left breathless afterwards, it was only because I was confronted, in such a short space of time, by issues mirrored inside me as a Cypriot, but more importantly, as an artist, writing my own novel set in Cyprus, Misplaced, and the points and issues I want to convey in my story. I was definitely inspired by the film, and with my own plans to one day turn my novel into a film, it’s great to see co-production between Cyprus and Australia coming up with this end result: a captivating masterpiece. How Maras managed this in the space of 17 minutes highlights his talent as a filmmaker.
Five stars from me!
Argyro Toumazou said,
August 6, 2011 at 2:03 am
I am pleased to read the review and congratulate Anthony for his inspiration and persistence. I hope to see the film in Cyprus at some time. Random complexity unfortunately lives on. The reconciliation issue stays behind in the background and the impasse persists. Calm predictions in the 20′s become reality in the mid-70s. The realms of human perception are unbelievable, but the only truth.
As publishing a physical book is out of question, even in Cyprus, I aspire to launch a Kindle edition of my book Polity and Cyprus in the near future, shedding some light on many positive aspects that consciously or unconsciously are ignored. Anthony Maras unique dedication to the drama
gives Erinies the chance to leave their abode in Hades and dwell among us for the short time-span of the film, daughters of the Earth and of Darkness as they are. It takes courage and artistic talent to do that .
Koraly Dimitriadis said,
August 6, 2011 at 2:17 am
Hi there, thanks for your comments! Great to hear that you are launching a kindle edition – it seems this is the way book publishing has taken writers. Maras’s film is brilliant to say the least and it is exciting to see this collaboration between cyuprus and australia, for me especially as my novel is set in both countries and I aspire for it to be turned into a film one day, in a long, long time!