Black Stone

Spiros Jacovides's 2023 Greek film opens with two people making a documentary about missing civil servants. They meet Charoula, who is searching for her son, and the camera falls in behind her. Her son's name appears in a fraud file alongside that of a foreign woman. Hearing this, Charoula changes the direction of her search; the film builds a mother's protectiveness as comedy while making her prejudices plain. The narrative brings anti-immigrant language in Greece directly onto the screen and leaves the viewer between laughing with Charoula and being troubled by her. The tone is sharp. Who it's for: those who like contemporary Greek comedy and social satire. Who it's not for: viewers who would be uncomfortable hearing racist language repeated on screen.