"Cheap Smokes" brought new standards in Greek film making! Excellent directing by Renos Haralambidis with a deep poetic view of Athens's modern life and outstanding performances by himself (as the main character) as well as by most of his co-stars! It made us take a wonderful journey through love, relationships, friendship and through a different site of Athens "by night"! A film that if it wasn't in Greek language it would certainly make a worldwide breakthrough! Haralambidis combines - in a strange way - Angellopoulos's cinema with American movies.
The film would be even better if there weren't some unfortunate cast choices, like Papacharalambous, who, even though camera loves her, her performance doesn't succeed in touching the depth of the other's. But she was one of the reasons, as a Greek TV star, that the film had a commercial success and at the same time critics loved it.
Haralambidis gave Greek cinema the prestige that was missing.
The film would be even better if there weren't some unfortunate cast choices, like Papacharalambous, who, even though camera loves her, her performance doesn't succeed in touching the depth of the other's. But she was one of the reasons, as a Greek TV star, that the film had a commercial success and at the same time critics loved it.
Haralambidis gave Greek cinema the prestige that was missing.