Betty Arvanitis Movies

Daydreams woven in and out of reality soon take over this psychological drama about three middle-class couples on a vacation together at a beach, couples who used to be fired up with liberating ideas in the 1960s but who have now opted for a settled, comfortable lifestyle. One of the men is a doctor who is having an affair with the wife of another of the men, a businessman. The third man is an alcoholic, hoping to garner business favors on this shared vacation. The wife of the unfaithful doctor is a writer -- shy, withdrawn, and aware of what her husband is doing in his spare time. The wife of the alcoholic is hung up on kinky sex. The precarious veneer of normalcy starts to erode when a gorgeous blond arrives at the camp, pitches her tent, and completely unconscious of anyone else, takes off for a nude swim in the water. The next day does not bring her any increased interest in wearing adequate clothing, and soon the men are overdosing on testosterone and their wives are pretending to be too sophisticated to notice the young woman. At this point, the imaginings of the men and women take over -- scenes show them inviting the blond to a dinner that deteriorates into an orgy, or they kill her and bury her body -- is any of that true? More symbolic than it would seem at the beginning, viewers are left to draw their own conclusions as the story approaches its end. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In 1967 when the military junta took over the government of Greece, many families became wealthy and accustomed to living without paying attention to the nature of the military dictatorship. A group of these nouveau riche gather in an opulent country villa to dally over conversations about politics, personal problems, and whatever comes to mind. After this form of exertion, they watch a pornographic film, the maid performs a strip-tease, and the laughter and talking continue as usual until shots are heard. The mood starts to change since it is not clear what is happening, and the telephone is out of order so they cannot reach the authorities. As the long night heads into the pre-dawn hours, a complete silence sets in, and the true nature of these latter-day aristocrats begins to emerge. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This Greek film is a full-scale production war action movie, set in Crete during World War II. The Allies have given Cretan-born commando Nikitas the job of blowing up a German airfield on his home island. When he lands to do the job, however, he finds the local resistance forces, led by Lefteris, unwilling to do the job for two reasons. First, the Germans have captured Lefteris' father and his girlfriend in response to a successful resistance raid. Second, Lefteris thinks that bombing the airfield is a suicide mission. Nikitas and his men do the job anyway, and as expected, all of them die except Nikitas, who is captured by the Germans. Lefteris raids the prison and liberates his father, his girlfriend and his rival. His father, wounded in the raid, reveals a long-held family secret before he dies. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This philosophically puzzling Greek drama from writer/director Yiorgos Stamboulopoulos concerns an aimless thirtysomething factory worker named Dimitris (Nikiforos Naneris). He has no goals or ambitions, and drifts from one day to the next with no particular plans until his factory closes. Then he meets Maria (Eleni Theofilou), a driven young woman who has begun teaching night school courses in order to help combat adult illiteracy, a fairly big problem in Greece at the time. Her passion is catching, in more ways than one, and through his relationship with Maria, Dimitris finds a purpose to his own life, teaching along with her. Betty Arvaniti and Dimitra Zeza co-star in the supposedly uplifting tale. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide