EYES OF NIGHT (MATIA APO NICHTA) European Showcase

A wonderfully acted relationship drama, EYES OF NIGHT tracks the lives of three people and the ordinary choices and mistakes they make along the way. With a middle-aged couple as a refreshing focal point, we are reminded of the ever-changing nature of life. Writer/ director Pericles Hoursoglou suggests that, while imperfection and weakness ore part of humanity, it is our response to them that help us discover who we are.

Forty-something Eleftheria toils away at an Athens pastry shop, dreaming of the day her truck driver boyfriend, Chronis, will propose. On a return trip to the city, Chronis gives young Vallia a ride, and three lives intersect unexpectedly. Back in Athens, Chronis seems to be nursing a fatherly urge as he tries to help this country girl, causing Eleftheria to wonder what. may have happened between them on the road. The couple stumbles, as Vallia falls in with the wrong crowd and ends up being arrested. Issues of trust, hope, responsibility, generosity and forgiveness play out in moving, yet believable, ways.

EYES OF NIGHT eschews visual flash in order to emphasize the universality of these characters, in that they feel the same passions, loneliness and ego as the glossy leads in the slickest big-studio production. Unobtrusive camerawork and ample dialogue keep the characters at the center of this heartfelt film.