Ballad for a Pierced Heart

Yannis Economides's 2020 Greek film is set in a small town. When a passionate affair crosses with a calculation about money, events go out of control fast and bodies start piling up; the woman at the centre of the affair remains unaware of most of it. The film makes no effort to make its characters likeable. Everyone shouts, everyone lies and no decision is thought through; Economides's known manner is built here too on dense swearing and unbroken tension. The narrative joins black comedy to the crime film. The violence is sudden and unjustified; rather than dramatising it the narrative makes it ordinary. The running time is long and scenes continue until they finish. Who it's for: those who like contemporary Greek cinema and harsh black comedy. Who it's not for: viewers uncomfortable with constant verbal aggression and graphic violence; the film uses plenty of both.