REVIEWS

USCAF Review: Chariton's Choir

by Alex Billington
March 2, 2007

• US Release Date: US Comedy Arts Fest
• Genre: Comedy, Drama
• Running Time: 116 minutes
• Directed by: Grigoris Karantinakis
• on IMDb
•    5.5/10

(Reviewed during the US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado - March 1st.)

This very interesting and quirky tale is a Greek subtitled film that follows a peculiar and hilarious love triangle in a small Greek town and the annual choir contest that the entire city constantly prepares for. The film is essentially told by the young Grigoris (Stefanos Karadinakis), who often speaks with asides directly to the camera, and is a very confused youngster just beginning to grow up. However, Grigoris's character was not as strong as the consistently mischievous and always cheerful Chariton, who is at one end of the love triangle and is the most enjoyable character in the film. The story has some strong points and is certainly very Greek societal based, so take it at your own risk.

Georges Corraface, as Chariton, gives a fantastic performance, and will be the one remembered once you've seen this movie. The film takes a little while to get used to and get into, then it moves into some great scenes and enjoyable humor, then unfortunately it runs a little long and loses its steam. This is one of the few times where I thought it could've used Hollywood's pointers and ended on its high far before it begun to go downhill. It is very interesting to see and support Greek independent filmmaking and observe the different culture and styles. In the end, Chariton's Choir does show the universal power of laughter and how despite language barriers the same jokes and the same moments can be enjoyed.

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