FACE TO FACE


View at Tainiothiki tis Ellados
  • Other title(s): FACE TO FACE
  • Genre: Feature Film
  • Year: 1966
  • Description: The film’s main theme is the temporary affair of a professor of English (Kostas Messaris) with the daughter of a wealthy family, whom he tutors in order for her to marry an English businessman. The hero’s disappointment and his lost dreams make him blame his employers for his personal failure, but his need makes him accept their offers. In his dreams he identifies them with the Germans during the Occupation. Besides his love affair with the daughter Varvara (Eleni Stavropoulou), which stops abruptly after the arrival of the Englishman, the professor succumbs to another affair with the mother (Theano Ioannidou). The hero finds himself in constant conflict with him own soul - and this is worsened as long as he is forced to surrender to his employers.
    1. INTRODUCTION (IMAGES FROM THESSALONIKI AND KAISARIANI) ID (photos of life in Thessaloniki, images of prisoners, an ID). Shots (travelling) from the Kaisariani Shooting Ground. The photograph of a mother. The ID. (THESSALONIKI)
    10. VARVARA’S FAMILY Varvaras’ family is having dinner. Each of the family’s four members seems detached, lost in a personal world, absorbed in meaningless thoughts. There is full absence of communication, while a maid serves a hearty dinner. Dimitris arrives. During the lesson, Varvara lights a cigarette, while she announces to him that she also takes piano and ballet lessons and she is to marry an Englishman. Her father asks them to continue their lesson in the living room, because he has something important to do in the office. Varvara’s brother comes in the living room. He spends his time doing crossword puzzles, though without success. Dimitris helps him. Rena’s gambling friends arrive. Dimitris and Varvara are forced to change location again, in order to go on with their lesson. They go to the huge apartment’s living room, while Rena invites Dimitris to watch the military parade from the balcony on the following day. On the phone, Varvara’s father negotiates on what to buy next: a piece of land or a ship? Irritated by the voices of the crowd, he steps on the balcony. At Syntagma square, a group protests. He decides to buy the ship. (VARVARA'S APARTMENT - SYNTAGMA SQUARE)
    11. THE PARADE OF MARCH 25TH National holiday (March 25th). Cannonades from Lycabettus, people on balconies. At the entrance of the bourgeois apartment building, a policeman undercover, is on guard. Dimitris is not on the list of those expected to watch the parade from the balcony. Not knowing what to do, Dimitris walks towards the site of the military parade. He watches the event indifferently, while his mind is filled by the dull sound of the wooden legs of a wounded in war who parades. (LYCABETTUS - VARVARA'S APARTMENT BUILDING - CENTRE OF ATHENS)
    12. VARVARA FLIRTS WITH DIMITRIS A baby learns how to walk, while the sound of the crippled man’s wooden legs still resonates. An elderly woman washes a car (cf. thematic cycle 3). Dimitris goes to class on the following day. Elpida, the maid, reads popular magazines. She leads him to the balcony, where Varvara sunbathes, in her bikini. The center of the city is in a state of major construction activity. Workers construct tall buildings. Varvara watches through the binoculars. Αn aria is heard. As he waits for Varvara, Dimitris examines in surprise the intercom system and leaves through an album with photos of a wealthy life that unfolds before his eyes: speedboats, yachts, riding, and Varvara’s presence everywhere. Then he examines the model of an apartment building and Varvara informs him that it is her dowry. During the lesson, she flirts with him unabashedly. Τhe other members of the family are asleep. The girl wants to find out his opinion of her. Dimitris replies (as he thinks that she is a “bitch") that she is a spoiled girl that has to grow and tries to bring her back to reality. The girl asks him if he likes her hands – and also whom he votes for. As Dimitris prepares to leave, Varvara grabs his newspaper and forces him to chase her in the huge apartment to get it. In the end, he catches her on her bed and gets the paper. (THE STREET OUTSIDE VARVARA'S APARTMENT BUILDING – VARVARA'S APARTMENT)
    13. DIMITRIS’S DREAM At home, Dimitris sleeps restlessly. He dreams of Varvara in her bikini, lying on the rug and typing. The sound of the typewriter is reminiscent of a machine gun. The girl provokes him and asks him to come close to her. His roommate knocks on his door. Dimitris wakes up. He raves in his sleep. (DIMITRIS'S HOUSE - VARVARA'S APARTMENT(DREAM))
    14. VARVARA’S PARENTS FIGHT Dimitris listens at Varvara’s recorded message on the record player. She will be back soon. As he waits for her for the lesson, he hears through intercom the couple fighting. Rena and Varvara’s father attack one another using harsh words. Rena takes Dimitris along to the farmers’ market. Dimitris follows the lady and her maid, rather self-conscious, holding the dog on the leash. Shots with tourists and Athenians sitting at the coffee houses at Syntagma and Kolonaki. (VARVARA'S APARTMENT – STREETS OF ATHENS - SYNTAGMA SQUARE - KOLONAKI SQUARE)
    15. DIMITRIS SLEEPS OVER AT VARVARA’S HOUSE During the lesson, Varvara reads in English excerpts from the book “The ideology of the working class”. In the other room. Rena monitors the lesson through intercom. In her room, the maid listens attentively to the radio program entitled: “Modern Woman”, which focuses on the proper placement of the legs of seated women. Rena and her friends are ready to play cards. The Russian expatriate, clad in jewelry, talks nostalgically about life in Moscow and enumerates the hardships after the Bolshevik revolution, as well as the hardships of refugees: Moscow – Odessa – Constantinople. The father asks Dimitris to move into another room for the rest of the lesson. It seems to him that Varvara’s speaking and pronunciation progress well. Varvara will be ready when the wealthy groom-to-be arrives. They kick out Telis, who listens to popular foreign music. During the lesson, Varvara wants to have a drink. Dimitris is strict with her. The voices of protesters are heard from the street. Rena talks to her friends about the revolution in Egypt: "Fires in the hotels. We didn’t even trust our servants". She calls Dimitris to join them in their game. Dimitris takes a seat among the four bourgeois ladies. That night they put him to sleep on the couch, in the living room. He has nightmares, he always has difficulty sleeping. He dreams of Varvara and Rena. In the morning he wakes up at the loud noise of the vacuum cleaner, as Elpida does the cleaning. (VARVARA'S APARTMENT)
    16. THE NOISE ANNOYS DIMITRIS Dimitris walks on the noisy streets of the center of Athens. Compressors and cars. He returns home to freshen up. He shaves using an electric razor that makes a funny sound. Shots of Varvara sleeping, shaving her legs and freshening up. (DIMITRIS'S HOUSE – VARVARA'S APARTMENT - STREETS OF ATHENS)
    17. VARVARA AND DIMITRIS MAKE LOVE At noon, Dimitris goes to teach Varvara. They are alone at home. Varvara doesn’t want to have a lesson. Dimitris reacts. Tonight, the groom-to-be arrives by plane – London- Athens – Khartoum: the trip is related to the property he is to inherit from his father. They have a heated discussion and Varvara’s wig is left in his hands. She slaps him and tells him on his face that Rena and her friends want to "brush up their English with him. He will be busy year round". On the heat of the conversation, their faces come close. They kiss passionately and make love on the rug. (VARVARA'S APARTMENT)
    18. THE STROLL OF VARVARA AND DIMITRIS Afternoon. Dimitris and Varvara are in the National Gardens. The Panathenaic Stadium. The statue of the Discus Thrower. At the Karaiskakis Stadium, the British group "RIDDLES" gives a concert. Among the youths who enjoy the group’s modern tunes are Varvara (she is shown alone on the tiers) and Dimitris, rather self-conscious. (THE NATIONAL GARDENS – THE PANETHENAIC STADIUM - THE KARAISKAKIS STADIUM)
    19. VARVARA AND DIMITRIS AT A BAR Evening. Dimitris and Varvara sit silently at the bar at Apotsos. Dimitris, who seems to be in love, is looking at her with grief in his eyes. (THE BAR AT APOTSOS)
    2. OPENING TITLES (IMAGES THAT JUXTAPOSE HISTORICAL MEMORY WITH THE CAREFREE GREEK REALITY) Αthens. Opening titles (images that juxtapose the historical memory and consciousness with the tourist, carefree Greek reality: Omonoia square, Truman’s statue, walls with traces of bullets from the Civil War and the December riots, tourists and public urinals). (ATHENS – OMONOIA SQUARE - THE TRUMAN'S STATUE – BUILDINGS WITH TRACES FROM BULLETS FROM THE CIVIL WAR)
    20. THE LAST PREPARATIONS FOR THE ARRIVAL OF THE WEALTHY GROOM Rena comes home and takes care of the last details. The father and his collaborators work. The English groom-to-be arrives. A lavish dinner follows. (VARVARA'S APARTMENT)
    21. RENA AND DIMITRIS MAKE LOVE Through the window, they inform Dimitris that they need him as an interpreter during the wealthy man’s tour. Rena is going to pass by his place. When the well-preserved and plump woman meets Dimitris, she takes off her clothes and asks him to make love to her quickly. They have only fifteen minutes. Time flies by. (DIMITRIS'S HOUSE)
    22. A WALK IN ATHENS, FULL OF CONTRADICTIONS Dimitris and Rena go to pick up Varvara and the groom-to-be. A tour to the sights of Athens follows: Temple of Zeus Olympios, Kallirois street, several streets, Theseion, Zappeion, Hilton, Acropolis. They visit the Parthenon. A succession of Athenian shots follows, in order to convey the existence of sharp contrasts. Another side of Athens is juxtaposed to the one that’s trying to imitate novel fashions: neoclassical houses being demolished, Thanasis Veggos, the cinemas "Titania" and "Ideal", girls in mini skirts etc. Then, they return to the apartment and enjoy the view to the Acropolis from the balcony. (STREETS OF ATHENS – THE ACROPOLIS - THE PARTHENON - THE HILTON – ZAPPEION – THE TEMPLE OF ZEUS OLYMPIOS – KALLIROIS STREET– THESEION – WORKSITES)
    23. THE PARTY AT THE APARTMENT Evening. The maid says something to the elderly lady we have seen many times before. Dimitris goes back to the apartment that is full of guests and offers Varvara, for her nameday, a record with recorded poetry (Dimitris Christodoulou: Front). He meets several people who are well-off and enjoy a high social position. The table is full of delicacies. Mouths open as they eat, laugh or consume alcohol. A little before dawn, Rena invites the guests to watch the sunrise from the Acropolis. (VARVARA'S APARTMENT)
    24. DIMITRIS’S GRIEF Varvara’s family car leaves full of people. They don’t take Dimitris along, as he doesn’t fit. He is sad and sits on the sidewalk, before the building’s entrance. (As in a dream or a hallucination, he sees that a cart loaded with coffins has blocked traffic. Behind it there is a procession of limos that are forced to move in marking time. Dimitris walks on Dexameni square. (THE STREET BELOW VARVARA'S APARTMENT BUILDING – STREETS OF ATHENS – DEXAMENI SQUARE)
    25. THE NEXT DAY ΑIn the empty house, the maid plays the poetry record. She doesn’t know what it is and gets ready to dance. The poet’s voice is heard. Dimitris walks alone in Athens as the sun comes out. Monastiraki Square and Athinas street. People go to work. Rena and her guests take their place to enjoy the sunrise from the Acropolis (THE AKROPOLIS - MONASTIRAKI SQUARE - ATHINA'S STREET- VARVARA'S APARTMENT)
    26. DIMITRIS’S MEMORIES AND HALLUCINATIONS Dimitris is in his room. He sits on the rocking chair. (Flashback). He remembers Rena’s visit and her laughter, as she took off her clothes. As if in a hallucination, Varvara appears as well. Rena’s loud laughter is heard. Dimitris embraces Varvara, then Rena. In the end, he is alone in the room. He leaves, unable to stand his fancies and memories. (DIMITRIS'S HOUSE)
    27. EVERYONE’S OUT Elpida, the maid, takes a bubble bath. Imitating the tone of wealthy lady, she replies to Dimitris on the phone: "Everyone’s out". Dimitris is drinking at a bar. Elpida wanders in the empty apartment, half-naked. (VARVARA'S APARTMENT - A BAR)
    28. THE GROOM-TO-BE LEAVES In the airport the airplane with the English visitor takes off. Varvara’s parents greet him goodbye. Varvara walks, looking for something. (THE AIRPORT - A STREET)
    29. BETWEEN FANCIES AND HALLUCINATIONS The maid leaves the house. Dimitris calls again, from a bar. No-one answers. He seems uneasy and is apparently drunk. Something between a fancy and a hallucination follows. Rena appears in a German helmet and garters, holding a machine gun. Varvara’s father and the English groom kill him. With every shooting, a tile falls from the roof. Dimitris pays and goes. (A BAR - VARVARA'S APARTMENT)
    3. PRIVATE LESSONS IN ENGLISH An elderly woman washes a car. At a luxury, modern apartment building in Kolonaki, Dimitris Emmanouil, a thirty-year-old professor of English, rings the bell. The dog barks. The juicy maid announces his arrival to four ladies who play cards and don’t show any interest until the game ends. Dimitris is to tutor Varvara – whom her stepmother calls Barbara – in English, to freshen up her language skills in fifteen days. Varvara’s brother passes by. The girl is informed that the professor has arrived through intercom. She is beautiful, eighteen years old and lively, and tells Dimitris right away that Rena is in charge of the house. The wealthy father, a businessman, gives Dimitris a checque: "a down payment to give him courage". Dimitris and Varvara are to begin their lesson on the following day, at 10 o’clock. (A STREET IN KOLONAKI– AN APARTMENT BUILDING IN KOLONAKI – A LUXURY APARTMENT)
    30. VARVARA GOES TO DIMITRIS’S PLACE Varvara goes to Dimitris’ place. He isn’t there, thus his roommate takes the opportunity to guide her through modern Greek history. On the wall, there are photos of Kondylis, Churchill, famous football players, etc. One invader is succeeded by another. "The Germans left, the English followed, then the Americans etc. ". Varvara leaves bewildered. (DIMITRIS'S HOUSE)
    31. DIMITRIS INVADES VARVARA’S APARTMENT Dimitris rings the bell at Varvara’s apartment. No-one answers and, drunk as he is, he “intrudes” from the rooftop to the apartment’s balcony. Being out himself, he begins to destroy the models of the apartment buildings on Varvara’s father’s desk. He tries to call his mother in Thessaloniki. Varvara comes in. Surprised by his violent intrusion, she calls him a barbarian. Dimitris recovers and tries to make up for the destruction he caused. Varvara’s parents return from the airport. Terrified, they see that the place is a mess. The phone’s earpiece is hanging, waiting for a connection with Thessaloniki. Dimitris leaves without an explanation. (VARVARA'S APARTMENTS)
    32. PROTESTS IN THE CENTER OF ATHENS Scenes of protests and of the gathered crowds, with high tension. A politician is deified by the crowd that is gathered around the Parliament. As if trying to protect herself from the voices, Varvara lowers the canopy on the balcony, using an electric mechanism. (OUTSIDE OF THE PARLIAMENT - VARVARA'S APARTMENT)
    33. DIMITRIS GREETS VARVARA GOODBYE We see passersby in the center of Athens and the elderly woman who washes the car. Dimitris, at the entrance of Varvara’s apartment building, rings the bell. Varvara replies to him through the door monitor. At first, he tries to talk to her about his love. The girl tells him that she cannot hear him well. Overcoming his uncertainty, Dimitris hides his feelings: "It is sad that things came this way". He goes. At the empty entrance, Varvara’s voice is heard. The spoiled rich girl, irritated, replies with an ironic homily. The door monitor amplifies the sound of the voice at the empty entrance. We see shots of passersby and pedestrians. (VARVARA'S APARTMENT ENTRANCE – STREETS)
    4. VARVARA’S BROTHER AND DIMITRIS Varvara’s brother, a carefree young man, takes Dimitris in his cabrio sports car. He drives fast in the center of the city. (A STREET IN KOLANAKI - STREETS OF ATHENS)
    5. CENTER FOR THE SELECTION OF EMIGRANTS A neoclassical building. We hear the voices of students and a teacher who repeat typical phrases in English and German. (I will be a good worker, I will speak better English when I get to Australia). The label reads: "CENTER FOR THE SELECTION OF EMIGRANTS". Dimitris walks into the building and comes face-to-face with the quintessence of bureaucracy. People wait to be served, forming long lines. Others disappear at every move of the stamp. (A NEOCLASSICAL BUIDING, THE CENTRE FOR THE SELECTION OF EMMIGRANTS)
    6. ΤHE COMMENTS OF THE GERMANS A popular restaurant. Lonely patrons, unrelated to one another, eat daily at the same place. Dimitris overhears the discussion of a couple of Germans who sit at the table behind him. Unable to understand the Greek reality, they repeat with conceit several colonial stereotypes of "touristy" and hidden racism, about the links of Greek emigrants with their country. ( A POPULAR RESTAURANT)
    7. AT DIMITRIS’S HOUSE Dimitris’s house. A German sign from the occupation, in the dark room where Dimitris’s elderly roommate lives, reads: "German soldier, don’t give your bread to the Greeks. They will get mad at you and attack you". Dimitris asks for the newspaper. The roommate asks him how the lesson with the young girl went. Dimitris lies down, opens the newspaper and limits himself to a mere "goodnight". (DIMITRIS'S HOUSE)
    8. ΤHE LESSON WITH VARVARA On the following morning, Dimitris walks out of the old and rather deserted neoclassical building where he resides, in a base area in the center of Athens. He takes the bus to Varvara’s apartment. The wealthy family has a television set. The lesson with the spoiled girl proves to be rather difficult. (DIMITRIS'S HOUSE - VARVARA'S APARTMENT - STREETS OF ATHENS)
    9. DIMITRIS’S HALLUCINATIONS When Dimitris comes home, his roommate asks him again how the lesson went. "Awful", he replies. A shot of Varvara’s maid is intercut. She sets the table. Dimitris, before the bathroom window, is in a state of hallucination. His roommate’s face turns into that of Varvara. Dimitris seems puzzled. (DIMITRIS' HOUSE - VARVARA'S APARTMENT)
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  • Provider: Tainiothiki tis Ellados
  • Rights: In Copyright
  • Production company: ALTER EGO PRODUCTIONS
  • Director: MANTHOULIS ROVIROS
  • Collection: Ψηφιοποιημένες ελληνικές ταινίες μυθοπλασίας