Luton (2014) - Michalis Konstantatos

Michalis Konstantatos' Luton is the latest dark and thought-provoking film to come out of Greece following the trend of remarkable yet subversive films in contemporary Greek Cinema.   The story is centered around a trio of protagonists, a lonely lawyer who seeks some form of emotional connection, a middle-aged shopkeeper whose grown tired of the dullness of his work and family, and a teenager who resents his estranged bourgeois parents.  Shot in an incredibly cold, sterile style, Luton begins as a beautiful evocation of loneliness that concludes with a vile, explosive conclusion that leaves the audience searching for answers.  I must admit I'm a sucker for contemporary Greek Cinema's static style, much like Haneke's work, which slowly transforms captures the brutality of loneliness.  Very minimalistic in terms of dialgue, Luton gives nothing to the viewer easily, feeling almost like a silent film that forces the viewer to read between the lines.  I particularly found the lawyer character's journey very poignant, a woman who is struggling to find emotional stimulation, looking for companionship in a society that offers very little.  There is a scene halfway through the film in a restaurant that perfectly captures her plight, where we find her engaged with her on again of again lover, showcasing how she uses physical intimacy to fill the void in her life.  The ending of the film is sure to be divisive among viewers, but I found it endlessly thought-provoking, with the filmmakers forcing the audience to form their own conclustions.  Is this merely a disturbing statement of contempoary Greek culture or something more?  As we see these three character lash out in violent ways I found myself pondering if they are symbolic of Greek's government taking advantage of the less forutnate, with all the victims being less-fortunate souls.  The homeless man, the immigrant, and the hooker, are all violently attacked, while a seemingly middle class woman is only scared but left along by the trio of characters.  Some may find this hypothesis a stretch, which it may be, but there is also something to be said about these lonely charaters lashing out in an aggressive way, almost as if they are doing so to merely feel alive for once in their cold, empty lives.  Meticulously crafted, unflinching, and unquestionably obtuse, Michalis Konstantatos' Luton is an endlessly thought-provoking piece of cinema which forces the viewer to make their own conclusions.  

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