Moon, 66 Questions
Like Yorgos Lanthimos and Athina Rachel Tsangari, Jacqueline Lentzou is a contemporary Greek filmmaker with a distinct sensibility. Her debut feature – Moon 66, Questions – confirms Lentzou's position as a visionary director worth getting excited about
After a number of internationally acclaimed short films, Jacqueline Lentzou’s long-awaited feature-length debut has finally arrived. A heartfelt exploration of the fluid boundary between childhood and adulthood, the film follows Artemis (Kokkali) a young woman who is forced to return to Greece to care for her estranged father (Georgakopoulos) after he suffers a sudden and debilitating illness. A film of raw emotions and messy feelings, the reversal of their parent-child dynamic reopens old wounds and signals a fraught period of self-reflection as they attempt to adapt to their newly assigned roles.
Combining the deadpan style we’ve come to expect from contemporary Greek directors such as Yorgos Lanthimos and Athina Rachel Tsangari with her own unique astrological approach to life’s many mysteries, Lentzou’s debut immerses us in a peculiar, yet empathetic story of self-discovery. From a cathartic dance sequence to Bomfunk MC’s Freestyler to a moment of opaque role play in which Artemis mimics her father during a recreation of an argument they had when she was a teenager, the film walks a fine line between the tragic and the absurd. That is until an intergalactic dialogue with the universe reveals a long-buried secret that provides the pair with an opportunity for reconciliation.
A wildly energetic coming-of-age tale with a distinctly intimate style, Moon 66, Questions confirms Lentzou's position as a visionary director worth getting excited about.
Released 24 Jun by Modern Films; certificate 15