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Xenia

Play trailer 1:39 Poster for Xenia Released Oct 9, 2015 2h 8m Drama LGBTQ+ Play Trailer Watchlist
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86% Tomatometer 14 Reviews 55% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
Teen brothers cross the country to find their Greek father after their Albanian mother passes away.
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Xenia

Critics Reviews

View All (14) Critics Reviews
Martin Tsai Los Angeles Times Koutras admirably resists easy wish fulfillment by making the brothers' journey more important than their destination, but the scenario he presents inexplicably turns out to be fantasy. Nov 5, 2015 Full Review Stephen Holden New York Times You come away from "Xenia" feeling a bit more alive and ready to throw caution to the wind. Oct 11, 2015 Full Review Boyd van Hoeij The Hollywood Reporter Though the story's finally too predictable and a little too thin to captivate for the film's entire two-hours-plus running time, the characters, their chemistry and their plight are compelling Oct 7, 2015 Full Review Julia Raban The Stranger (Seattle, WA) What Xenia captures (successfully, repeatedly) is that uncomfortable late teen age, where you're grasping desperately for your childhood and its safe comforts, and also itching to become new, independent, and powerful. Aug 21, 2017 Full Review Daniel Krauze El Financiero The reality that the movie portrays is deeper than this bad caricature. [Full review in Spanish] Sep 23, 2015 Full Review Jorge Ayala Blanco El Universal A post-modern drama, filled with radical ideas of rebellion and a lot of joy and fun to go along with it. [Full review in Spanish] Sep 17, 2015 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (14) audience reviews
Audience Member This film is really uneven and the fact that it takes too long makes it even more so. Sometimes beautiful, sometimes a caricature of serious reality. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Un poco extraña cuando la empieza. Luego te das cuenta de que estas envuelto en la trama y termina gustando. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the very good modern Greek movies. Xenia is the evidence that a new line of Greek cinema is much needed and it can be successful. Xenia is a movie about eveyrthing that's going on in Greece this last decade. Homophobia, racism and far right political parties synthesize the core of this movie. Two brothers take a journey to try and find their place in the chaos that exists in modern Greece, as they feel like strangers both in the country that they were born into and in the country they come from. The relationship of the brothers is the centerpiece of the movie with Kostas Nikouli stealing every single frame with his charm and talent. Nikos Gelia is a good lead as well and the movie manages to capture the real emotions and bonds forming between them. In the end I was left with uncertainty but also with joy and hope for the future. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member It's a long and uneven road for this amiable but insubstantial story about two brothers journeying through Greece to find the father who abandoned them as infants. Motivated in his quest by the death of his mother, the younger boy Dany (Kostas Nikouli) has his own emotional problems which prevent him from making the necessary transition from child to adult, despite his otherwise confident air as a young gay man. The film explores these insecurities through his pet rabbit Dido and some well delineated fantasy sequences, some of which involve a larger than life stuffed rabbit. The film also tips its hat to Eurovision and the older brother Odysseas (Nikos Gelia) is presented as a really good singer looking to enter a popular talent contest en-route. One particular episode, no doubt aimed at the gay market, shows the brothers singing and dancing in their underwear. This sequence of high camp is too meticulously choreographed to integrate believably here despite the flamboyance of the lead character or the fun it otherwise produces. Political issues, such as the financial crisis in Greece and the immigration problem are also convincingly touched upon. Ultimately, the film is not unlikeable, but it is seriously overlong by at least half an hour for its slim storyline. The climatic meeting with the father is actually very good and creates some tension, as is an earlier meeting with bullies. This sequence results in one of the attackers being shot with the gun that Dany misguidedly carries around with him. The lovely musical accompaniment, often played on acoustic guitar, is also reminiscent of some themes from 'Brokeback Mountain'. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member Xenia es tan rara como su personaje principal que termina gustando. Una road-movie que por momentos es muy diferente pero por otros es muy torpe y esto gracias a su guión que no termina de cuajar en la pantalla. Su debilidad es ese final que me deja sentimientos encontrados pero que después de un rato termina por gustarme. Uno de los mejores personajes gays que he visto en el 2015. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Xenia is a predictable drama of brothers searching for their father. Yet, the characters are charismatic and their plight is absorbing enough to warrant its long running time. Likewise, it is an enlightening journey to contemporary Greece distressed with economic and social issues. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Xenia

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Movie Info

Synopsis Teen brothers cross the country to find their Greek father after their Albanian mother passes away.
Director
Panos H. Koutras
Producer
Eleni Kossyfidou, Panos H. Koutras, Alexandra Boussiou
Screenwriter
Panos H. Koutras, Panagiotis Evangelidis
Distributor
Strand Releasing
Production Co
Entre Chien et Loup, 100% Synthetic Films, MPM Film, Wrong Men
Genre
Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language
Greek
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 9, 2015, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 23, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$3.2K
Runtime
2h 8m
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