Griechenland (2023) by Claudia Jüptner-Jonstorff and Eva Spreitzhofer - Review

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by Claudia Jüptner-Jonstorff and Eva Spreitzhofer

grade: 6.5

The colours of Greece, together with breathtaking landscapes, are treated in Griechenland almost as co-protagonists. Johannes runs from one side of the island to the other in order to understand what is really going on. But, perhaps, only a chat with a fisherman, while stargazing at night, can make one really understand the true meaning of life.

A new life?

The transition from childhood to adulthood, as we know, is never easy. When it happens, however, at the age of thirty-eight, taking control of one’s life seems even more difficult. Especially when one has two parents who seem to know better than anyone what the right choices to make are. Johannes (played by Thomas Stipsits), the protagonist of the film Griechenland, directed by Claudia Jüptner-Jonstorff and Eva Spreitzhofer, knows this well. How, then, will our protagonist finally learn to manage his life and “become an adult”? Soon told.

Johannes runs a luxurious hotel in downtown Vienna with his family. His mother (Mona Seefried) and his fiancée Julia (Katharina Straßer) are two very dynamic and determined women, but they do not always seem to notice the real needs of Johannes, who, as soon as the opportunity arises, locks himself in his studio to listen to music and play his numerous electric guitars. Things seem to take a completely unexpected turn when his real father (whose existence he had always ignored and who lived on a picturesque Greek island) passes away, naming him as his sole heir. Unbeknownst to his family, Johannes sets off for Greece in order to find out more about his past and to respect the wishes of his deceased father, who had requested to be cremated. Once at his destination, however, he gets the impression that the locals want to hide something from him.

In Griechenland, therefore, everything kicks off from paradoxical and highly bizarre situations. The only notary on the island is, in reality, also the mayor. And while a lively elderly couple (Margarethe Tiesel and Andreas Vitásek) initially pretend never to have known Johannes’ real father, Rina (played by Claudia Kottal, who has recently enjoyed great success together with Stipsits thanks to the feature films Love Machine and Love Machine 2), a chambermaid in a small hotel, seems to know better than anyone what secrets are being concealed from our protagonist.

The colours of Greece, together with breathtaking landscapes, are treated in Griechenland almost as co-protagonists. Johannes runs from one side of the island to the other in order to understand what is really going on. But, perhaps, only a chat with a fisherman, while stargazing at night, can make one really understand the true meaning of life.

Claudia Jüptner-Jonstorff and Eva Spreitzhofer, for their part, rely heavily on the talent of the actors, exploiting their skills to the full in amusing sketches, in which the ashes of the deceased are preserved inside joghurt jars or bizarre premonitory dreams presage something very, very disturbing. Let’s agree: Griechenland is not a perfect film, and it relies a little too much on clichés and gags that have already been seen. Yet despite everything, this entertaining comedy by Claudia Jüptner-Jonstorff and Eva Spreitzhofer is exactly what it should be. And in its sincere simplicity it also presents some decidedly moving moments, giving the viewer just over an hour and a half of welcome light-heartedness.