Apples (II) (2020) User Reviews

It has the strangeness inherent in a Yorgos Lanthimos film, but this one's a charmer.

[mehobulls · 7/10 · 7 October 2020]

A dash of Philip K. Dick & Julio Cortazar (Disturbed Memory Department of the Neurological Hospital) and lots of Greek Weird Wave clichés - deadpan humor, doom and gloom, alienation, grief, identity-crisis, ennui etc. Alas, Apples lacks the haunting sadism of Lanthimos and Makridis' films which could make it more palatable to a wider audience. Nikou's suggestion - amnesia is not a disease, but a cure - is intriguing.

interesting enough debut

[Come-and-Review · 8/10 · 2 September 2020]

Christos Nikou's debut film is a fitting entry to the Greek Weird Wave, following its canons yet curiously introspective in a genuine way. The city is under attack by a curious pandemic of amnesia: tens of thousands suddenly forget everything about their past life. So seems to happen to the main character, found on a bus without documents and hence unidentifiable. Since nobody comes to look for him and identify him, he is enrolled in a program that aims at giving new identities to unidentified people. The film is obviously about how memories shape an identity, but this is tackled in a most unexpected way even knowing the premise of the film. It is suggested that the main character seems to remember things from his old life, but it may be because of the titular apples he keeps eating contonuously, which are told to have the power to bring back memories. In the tradition estabilished by Lanthymos (whom Nikou assisted in Dogtooth), the scenes are austere and dry, yet there is room for the interior journey of the main character, around which the film is constructed, allowing not so much an introspective look, but rather a very close view (additionally, the narrowness of the narrative is paralleled by the 4:3 aspect ratio). It's a debut film, and it is not flawless, one can argue that the analysis on the effects of memory loss and identity loss are not deep enough, but Nikou has been able to convey a double-effect of apparent introspectiveness, yet distanced look, which I found interesting enough to be interested in future projects by him.

Meditation

[durys · 7/10 · 5 April 2021]

I got ambiguous feelings after movie. One side of my mind tried to tell me this movie speaks quite of nothing, but other side quite loved it. Because the story is so realistic, and it's very easy to imagine oneself in the main character situaction.

So the verdict would be - worth your time!

Good Filmmaking But a Bit of a Disconnect

[sweidman-28016 · 7/10 · 30 October 2020]

"You could make a new beginning now."

Apples is a Greek movie that I fortunately got a ticket to during AFI. This must be the year for perfectly timed movie releases. Like our world today, the movie takes place during a worldwide pandemic. In this case, the unknown illness causes sudden amnesia. Middle-aged Aris finds himself enrolled in a recovery program designed to help unclaimed patients build new identities. I probably should've paid attention more in the beginning (I was finishing up some school work) because I had no idea what was actually going on the first 20 minutes. Once I figured everything out, I could actually start enjoying this movie. What I've found is Greek films have a certain style. All the ones I have seen have a quirky style, are drama-comedies, and have a deeper meaning to them. Apples follows this same setup the whole way through. I liked this style for the movie, but I found a major issue with pacing. The beginning starts off very slow and leaves many questions for the viewer. Right away there isn't much of an interest other than the acting and direction. Aris Servetalis plays Aris (I don't think the naming is coincidental) well. We're with him the whole time. He starts out having contracted this amnesia illness so we're blind with him. The comedy comes mainly from him. It's not the sort of laugh out loud comedy but it's more wholesome and situational. But the main source of interest comes from director Christos Nikou. He could be a new Yorgos Lanthimos. Their styles from the pale cinematography to the deadpan acting are very similar in the way of execution. I liked where he was coming from and this is a personal story to him as said in a Q&A with him, but this isn't as fleshed out as I would like it to be. Maybe a rewatch would help gain a better experience, but for now there's a bit of a disconnect. I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes a contender for international feature this awards season as it showcases good filmmaking.

Interesting film about the search for identity

[Lincsobserver · 7/10 · 10 May 2022]

In this film Aris appears to have suffered from a major case of amnesia, along with many of his fellow citizens. As a result he is put into a rehabilitation program, to try to help him rebuild his identity. The central character plays the scenes with a deadpan air, allowing us to view the unfolding events with him. He meets a fellow amnesiac, and they appear to be building a relationship, but he becomes disillusioned when he realises that her advances towards him are just the result of suggestions by the doctors who are controlling the program. It is an interesting study about the search for identity, and a meaning to life, and perhaps too the controlling impact of institutions on our lives, as the demands of the doctors become increasingly bizarre and inappropriate. Ultimately the film seems to question whether the character really has lost his memory, or whether this is a voluntary choice, as he searches for a new identity.

An analog metaphor

[leodiosb · 9/10 · 7 February 2021]

A parallel universe of loneliness. An isolated man without memories. A new beginning. Brilliant Smart Inspiring

A Composing Story with a lack of acting and a few plot holes.

[nikoskojima · 7/10 · 4 April 2022]

A film quite good in terms of plot, composition of the story and its evolution as well as with a great cinematic and directorial image, sound and shooting for the Greek data, the only thing that spoils it is the typical Greek "daydreaming" and the non-liveliness of the actors, except for the excellent Servetalis once again. The story had some holes in some parts of the film with a more characteristic ending as I think the director should have given more basis to the ending of the film and find out all the reason that ended up and the main character to choose this "new identity". ... maybe it was appropriate that I could not enter the director's mind except to make guesses and reflections ... generally a well-crafted plot which was not at all often boring and similar to others.

A riddle worthy of making the effort of solving it.

[ayoreinf · 9/10 · 1 September 2021]

I don't often like cinematic riddles, but this one deserves putting the effort to try and solve it. Especially since the movie itself gives us all the necessary clues for the solution.

The more I thought about this film the better I realized it was. It asks two basic questions what's our memories made of? And, how do we build new ones if we lost all those we had?

Yes, it's funny at moments, but I don't think it's a comedy and I said more than once on this pages "comedy drama" or "tragic comedy" are non terms as far as I'm concerned. Life have their funny moments, and showing these funny moments doesn't mean we're telling a funny story. In fact most of the laughs in this movie come from the artificial attempt to create new memories for these people who lost their old memories so they can build a new personality. It's like constructing a personality in a laboratory - that's not the way to do it. Personality is what carries us through real life and that's the only place where personalities can be built.

The film says this very loudly with a story that allows us very limited information about its protagonist. Aris, the protagonist seems to suffer from the amnesia sickness that the story tells us, is taking place all over the world. But we'll soon realize Aris does remember certain things, but doesn't like remembering. We'll have to reach the very end of the movie to solve its riddle and pay close attention to the clues provided through the story to find why Aris stopped fearing apples which are - as the film says - "good for the memory"

I won't be saying anything more, as this would mean adding a spoiler - I don't do these.

Could it be longer?

[mazen-jamal-salah · 7/10 · 16 January 2022]

A very interesting take on a different type of pandemics, I felt I could see more of that movie, maybe more complications and more lines to the story to give it the depth that could made that a movie one of the best movies in 2021 without a doubt.

Beside my wishes, an authentic experience that you witness rarely.

why?

[ago-marini · 1/10 · 8 April 2021]

An empty and boring plot, make a short instead. Silence would have been much more inspirational. Seen accelerated however slow as a sloth.

Well made

[canerbaskurt · 8/10 · 18 February 2021]

Even though there were a few absurdities, it was very well made in general. It's a very easy going and entertaining movie.

Interesting...

[Thanos_Alfie · 6/10 · 21 October 2021]

"Apples" is a Drama - Sci-Fi movie in which we watch the occurrence of a worldwide pandemic causing amnesia. A man is affected by it and is enrolled to a new program helping patients building new identities and start their lives from the beginning.

I found this movie interesting and it also reminded the movie "Little Fish" of 2020 that had some similarities. The plot was simple but interesting and the direction which was made by Christos Nikou was equally good. He presented very well the agony and struggle of a person who losses his memory, what he is being through and how is his new reality. The interpretation of Aris Servetalis who played as Aris was very good and he presented all the previous in a very unique way something that made us feel what he was feeling and follow him. Finally, I have to say that "Apples" is an interesting movie to watch and I recommend it to you since I am sure that you will enjoy it and you will learn something from it.

Desperate Misery

[zoparlap · 1/10 · 20 June 2021]

An extremely low quality ,in acting scenery and plot movie. An empty and desperate effort to be "innovative" and "culturiariki". I am sorry for both my time and the money for the ticket. Greek productions should try create good quality products for the Greek audience and stop dissapointing it like that.

Remember

[thebeachlife · 10/10 · 24 August 2021]

This one is about a weird pandemic causing amnesia in Greece. Enjoyed every minute of it. The uncanny hope as well as hopelessness is there throughout the film in the man's eyes, the man without a name who chooses to forget and to remember. We can see some flowers at the beginning and only towards the end do we realize why they were bought. Very human, touching and heart-warming.