What If...

Christopher Papakaliatis's 2012 Greek film tells two outcomes of a single moment in parallel. Dimitris is thirty-three, lives in an Athens in the middle of the economic crisis, is self-sufficient and has no thought of marrying. One evening a small decision on his way out of the flat splits the story in two: on one line he meets a woman and his life goes somewhere else entirely, on the other he does not and continues as he was. The film advances both lines in alternation, setting one character's two lives side by side. Greece in the crisis stands strongly in the background, with lost jobs, thoughts of leaving the country and uncertainty. Despite its romantic structure the story does not arrive anywhere optimistic. Papakaliatis both directs and takes the lead. Who it's for: viewers who like parallel narratives and romantic drama. Who it's not for: anyone expecting a clear close; the film completes neither line.