Chevalier

What does 'being a man' mean in 2016? That's the question asked by Athina Rachel Tsangari's Chevalier, an absurd buddy-comedy that reduces the masculinity-in-crisis debate into an extravagant pissing contest. In the middle of the Aegean Sea, on a luxury yacht, six men compete to see who is the 'the best in general.' They rank each other on their cholesterol level, ability to assemble flat-pack furniture and who has the most 'beautiful erection.'

The rules are vague and difficult to follow – a stiff hard-on is rewarded with two points but an excessive use of adverbs results in a five-point deduction. Each of these contests is designed to expose the insecurities of the men, yet a sympathetic understanding of how widespread unemployment has led to the erosion of masculinity tempers the unbridled testosterone. A hilarious critique of traditional gender roles, Tsangari harnesses the comic potential of this Olympian clash of egos to create a mordant portrait of the 21st century man.