03/08/2023 - Sofia Exarchou returns with an incisive sophomore feature about Greek seasonal workers at an all-inclusive island resort

“I don’t dream. Blank.” This confession, uttered in a messy backstage area in between outfit changes and makeup touch-ups, may sound casual enough, but it hints at the emotional stakes in Greek director Sofia Exarchou’s second feature film. Animal [+see also:
trailer
interview: Sofia Exarchou
film profile] is the first film to premiere out of this year’s International Competition at the Locarno Film Festival, and it is not afraid to draw some blood, lifting the curtain on seasonal work in the all-inclusive hotel industry. The phrase cited belongs to the protagonist, Kalia (Dimitra Vlagopoulou), whose ten-year career as an animator seems to have taken a symbolic toll, depriving her of the capacity to dream. A fleeting comment is a glimpse inside the otherwise taciturn character, while her presence shapes most of the film’s runtime: she is a leader in a flawed group dynamic, hosting the evening shows for the guests of the resort, and secretly basks in the spotlight, gifting people with the illusion that comes with organised entertainment. 

With Animal, Exarchou peels off the skin that protects a labouring body, especially one whose labour is made ephemeral through entertainment value. Animators are in charge of mediating the experience of the guests at an all-inclusive hotel in such a way that creating memories is perceived as a marketing investment: give the people an unforgettable time, so that they come back and bring all their friends. But the Greek director doesn’t stop at social commentary or a condemnation of tourism and its capitalist permutations. Instead, she crafts the story of a woman in denial, weak and stuck in a trap she’s built for herself, supposedly to fulfil her dream to perform, but performance has now robbed her of exactly that — dreams.

To counter this abstraction, the film adopts a corporeal aesthetic, where the camerawork by Monika Lenczewska (who also shot the director’s debut, Park [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sofia Exarchou
film profile]) exists as an entity in its own right. The camera lurks, curious; it roams and tracks the protagonist through her nightly escapades, resting for a minute to linger on her bruised body, naked in the shower. Exarchou makes a poignant point about the nature of labour, just by returning to the same events — shows and showers, among others — to show that the female body has always carried the marks of invisible labour. And that this labour has only been appreciated when made invisible. A heartbreaking rendition of Baccara’s 70s hit “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie” is another motif, returning to haunt the film’s melancholy ending and confirm Animal as a profoundly moving work with a subtle political message to match its aesthetic accomplishments.

Animal is produced by Homemade Films (Greece) in co-production with Nabis Filmgroup S.R.L (Austria), Digital Cube Romania, Felony Film Productions (Greece), and ARS Digital Studio (Bulgaria). Shellac handles international sales.