User Reviews

In Greece, a nurse, a paramedic, a gymnast and her coach form an underground group known as Alps. The goal of Alps is to help bereaved families through the mourning process by posing as the recently deceased. Run by the paramedic, the group visit elderly ladies, widowers and the like, keeping them company in the guise of the dead. After a young tennis player dies, the nurse takes up her role. Matters are complicated after she becomes obsessed; refusing to drop the act even after the grieving parents demand it. Meanwhile, the gymnast wants to dance to pop music, which her disciplinarian coach insists she isn't ready for. Will Alps prosper, or will the obsessiveness of the nurse lead to the groups' downfall?

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, 'Alps' is a movie both intriguing and frustrating. Lanthimos and co-writer Efthymis Filippou have come up with a genius conceit, which they then fail to explore as interestingly or as deeply as they could have. The narrative has surprisingly little emotional weight, constantly flirting around the edges of greatness but never quite making it. Scenes where the Alps members pose as the deceased initially have promise, but because Lanthimos and Filippou don't allow their characters to display any emotions; they ultimately have limited impact.

How can you create a meaningful film about grief when you don't allow any of your characters to grieve, or emote in any way? Additionally, there are numerous protracted silences in the film which- because of the aforementioned emotional frigidity of the characters- seem unnecessarily drawn out rather than intelligently introspective. Also, the sub-plot involving the gymnast and her coach, while entertaining, seems out of place in the grand scheme of things. It has no bearing on the main story; making one wonder whether or not it was included just to pad out the running time.

What was Lanthimos trying to say with 'Alps,' exactly? Some postulate the film may be an analogy about groupthink, while others claim it is some sort of capitalist cultural critique. The director himself has stated that "Alps is about a person who tries to enter a fabricated world," which doesn't really go a long way to explaining his intended meaning behind it. Ultimately, whatever message was at the core of 'Alps' is one so obscured by the confounding coldness of Lanthimos's approach that it's likely lost forever (on this viewer, anyway).

Having said that, there is a lot to praise about 'Alps.' Christos Voudouris's muted cinematography is attractive, lending to the proceedings a stark atmosphere that matches the narrative's dispassionate tone. His composition is frequently inspired, and some of his shots linger in the mind long after the credits have rolled. The story features much bizarre, dark humor that works well, and the cast are all great. Angeliki Papoulia and Johnny Vekris particularly impress as the nurse and the coach, respectively, turning in memorable performances despite Lanthimos and Filippou's scant characterization.

Yorgos Lanthimos's 'Alps' is a cold, calculated conundrum. As a complete package, it doesn't really work- though it contains scenes of power and moments of interest. Strikingly shot by Christos Voudouris, and routinely well-acted; it is not the creative and technical travesty some claim it to be. This is not to say it is a masterpiece either, for it is very far from that. Though Lanthimos has made much better films- 'Dogtooth' or 'The Lobster' come to mind- 'Alps' is certainly worth seeing; if only so you know you haven't missed the director's magnum opus.

With the singularly compelling premise of a mysterious group offering to take over the roles of recently deceased people to provide relief for their loved ones, it came as quite the shock to me that Greek writer-director Yorgos Lanthimos's follow-up to his 2009 Oscar-nominated "Dogtooth" (one of my all-time favorites) ultimately failed at living up to its concept.

Throughout the entirety of "Alps", I felt I was gazing in awe at a beautiful seed sadly incapable of germination. The film barely got anywhere while maintaining an incredibly slow pace and irritating visual style consisting of incessantly restrained deep-focus cinematography. There was so much potential wasted on scenes far too peculiar and insignificant to add any depth to the story or further develop the characters. Seldom did anything rightfully earn its place in the film; the multiple sex scenes seemed to be there with the sole purpose of being extremely awkward and obscene, while all the attempts at absurd humor felt slightly forced and weren't as effective as they should have been due to the narrative's intermittent solemnity.

This brings me to the film's greatest problem, which was that— on top of struggling to find its own voice and tone in its ridiculously irrational approach— it never really figured out what message it wanted to convey to its audience. Evidently Lanthimos was trying to say something about human nature and the craziness of consumer society, but he didn't succeed in delivering his thoughts coherently this time around. I hate comparing, but I must say I found the profound social critique that seeped through the bizarre surface of "Dogtooth" to be far superior in elaboration.

The end result of "Alps" was a confused, detached (albeit well-acted, especially by Aggeliki Papoulia) jumble beyond anyone's realm of comprehension, so overwhelmingly filled with unjustified senselessness that the most I could do was simply sit and stare at the screen, patiently awaiting some real substance, only to be disappointed by sheer staleness.

I suppose I somewhat admired "Alps" for all that it could've been following its eccentric uniqueness, but I can't see how anyone in their right mind could have truly enjoyed it.

Greek director Giorgos Lanthimos's second feature film "Alps" is just as thought provoking and bizarre as his Academy Award nominated debut "Dogtooth". He paints a very surreal picture that can be hard to understand, but somehow is still very engaging.

"Alps" is the name of a clandestine group of four people who offer a service to impersonate the recently deceased in order to help their clients through the grieving process. This group is comprised of a nurse, a rhythmic gymnast and her coach, and another man who is their leader. They are called the "Alps" because it is ambiguous and doesn't say what they do, as well as being irreplaceable. They meet in a gymnasium and don't go by their real names but are referred to by mountain peaks associated with the Alps. The leader is Mount Blanc, the Nurse and the stories main character is called Mount Rose.

The film is mainly focused on Mount Rose, played by Aggrelikki Papoulia who also starred in "Dogtooth" as the Eldest daughter. It is about the lost of identity and losing your connections to reality. Mount Rose is a nurse who lives with her elderly father, but also seems to be a playing the part of his late wife. She has several Alps clients and it is hard to find who the "real" Mount Rose is. The Gymnast and coach are another thing altogether, she is always in training and never seems to be ready. Mount Blanc is sort of a mystery. He is the quiet and stoic leader of the group who during a game of who would you most like to impersonate chooses Bruce Lee.

When Mount Rose breaks one of the rules of being an Alp she is cast out, this is where she loses her proverbial sh** and has a complete mental breakdown. Like trying to describe the meaning of a Salvador Dali painting, both "Alps" and "Dogtooth" just need to be experienced and usually more than once. Both movies are now available on Netflix watch Instantly.

Despite its premise doing a complete U-turn, Yorgos Lanthimos' Alps is a fitting companion piece to Dogtooth and presents the Greek filmmaker employing the same bizarre elements & narrative techniques that made his last film a weird & whacky oddity. And just like before, it is equally intriguing & frustrating.

Co-written & directed by Lanthimos, the concept is interesting but isn't realised to full potential, plus there are stretches of bland, repetitive moments that don't add much to the plot. Character interactions retain their peculiarity, and are delivered with blank expressions which cranks its quirky flavour. However, the ending isn't satisfying enough.

More a tragedy than an absurdist comedy, things do take a serious turn in the later half but these characters are so distant that we aren't invested in their predicament at any given time. Angeliki Papoulia stands out with an input that only gets crazier as plot progresses, and her breakdown scene is as disturbing as it is heartbreaking to watch from the sidelines.

Overall, Alps may not be a singularly bold & daring effort but it allows Lanthimos to further refine his filmmaking style, and carries his signature all over its frames. Not as impressive as his best works, the film lacks a sense of direction and is a tad too preoccupied with upping the eccentricity factor. Nevertheless, if you liked Dogtooth, then Alps is a definite recommendation.

A KVIFF screening, from the young and talented Greek director Giorgos Lanthimos, a follow-up of DOGTOOTH (2009), which was a dark horse nominee of Oscar's BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR and I haven't watched yet. But Giorgos' eerie approach of scrutinizing modern-day's communicative malaise has its overt justification in ALPS.

Absurd, genuinely designed, full of fits of laughters about the mimicking set pieces, the film presents itself in a more comprehensive elaboration than I expected, although initially, it takes some time to figure out the real occupation and motivation behind the self-dubbed "Alps"group (maybe Everest could be a more befitting name since its the highest mountain on the earth and its irreplaceability should be more cogent than Alps as long as height is concerned).

But the wacky "impersonating the deceased"groundwork is not potent enough to sustain the film into a genius employment, since the demanding of this type of service and its viability to perform its presumed obligation (to console the next-of-kins' grief) is a moot question here, and eventually a win-win condition has to yield to the conceptual willfulness (in the film it is the identity misconception, a spontaneously unsurprising aftermath). But performance-wise, leading actress Aggeliki Papoulia is a natural treasure, rendering the eccentric antics much more personal dedication (which also includes an equivocal default of the relationship between her and her father, another Alps' case or not?), I put her among my top 10 list of BEST LEADING ACTRESS line-up of 2011.

ALPS is a patchwork piece, nonetheless, Giorgos' one-of-a-kind singularity alone could be singled out as one of the most intriguing and cutting-edge film artist to bring some mondo gratification to cinema nerds.

Alps offers another engagingly weird examination of the human psyche from co-writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos. Focusing on those who profit off death to show some of the darker sides of humanity in a cold, offbeat and occasionally uncomfortable fashion.

The core four (Angeliki Papoulia, Aris Servetalis, Johnny Verkins and Ariane Labed) are all great at conveying the desensitised personality the film is going for. Their sympathy always feels fake and they all nail the delivery of this very specific type of comedy.

Yorgos Lanthimos really excels at creating environments that are just so bleak, especially through their desaturation. The overall weirdness can be a bit too much here in a way his other films balance better but even then it's still impressive to see a very distinctive voice find its footing.

Does it matter what ties a group committed to a common goal together? Does it matter if their common passion is nefarious or altruistic? Do the members need strict unbreakable rules to cohere? Is the survival of the group more important than the survival of any member? Can a goal of the group be accomplished by an individual without the support of the group?

Lanthimos has my unreserved admiration. I assume he is looking at group dynamics perverted. I can't quite relate to this movie as recognizably human.

I had visceral understanding of Dogtooth. This is what we do as parents.

I had visceral understanding of The Lobster. This is what society demands of us.

No such connection to Alps.

The Greek director Yorgos Lathimos may possess the most perverse and idiosyncratic imagination in movies. After his Oscar-nominated breakthrough movie "Dogtooth" and prior to his international hit "The Lobster" he made "Alps", a completely off-the-wall 'comedy', (you might have trouble finding the jokes), about a group calling themselves 'The Alps', who stand in for the recently deceased in order to help the relatives through the grieving process. An American writer/director might have made this into a sci-fi/horror film along the lines of Frankenheimer's "Seconds" but Lathimos treats it like a fairy-tale, albeit not one you might tell your children. This movie has a surreal sensibility that is both disquieting and blackly funny. On hindsight, "The Lobster" might seem like a natural progression though God knows where Lathimos might go from here.

You know that it is unmistakably a Yorgos Lanthimos film when at one point, it sounds as if a male and a female Siri were arguing and having sex.

Alps explores similar themes as the Black Mirror episode Be Right Back, but because the characters possess a higher degree of agency (the substitutes here are other human beings rather than programmed AI encased in a human-like body), it covers territory left unexplored by that BM episode. Infused with Lanthimos' classic dark, absurdist humour, Alps dives into the predatory and manipulative nature of such an enterprise, both within the group of service providers as well as between them and their clients. Seen particularly in the character arc of Monte Rosa are the repercussions of this enterprise on the identities of service providers too. As they ease the bereaved into the grieving process by substituting the deceased, these service providers, each tethered to their own personal baggage, are not entirely immune to the mental and emotional repercussions of this job.

Probing at the supposed boundaries that exist between clients and their service providers, Alps urges us to inquire more deeply into the nature of grief and the grieving process: When do we stop grieving? Do we ever stop grieving? Does such a service aid the healing process? At what point does it devolve into an emotional crutch or an instrument of abuse?

It has a plot that is inspired, and delightfully surreal. But the execution of it is dreadful. The imagination does not run wild in Alps. Visual speaking, it is a huge letdown. Everyone in the film seems half dead, sleepwalking through the film. Grieving with death is a concept that only makes sense if it is dealt with accurately. Now, I know that Alps is a surrealist piece, but it just didn't resonate with me emotionally. It didn't hit me where it clearly wanted to.

Alps is a movie where tone was all there was to offer. Having seen it work so well in Dogtooth, Lanthimos seems to have neglected everything else that made it as effective and memorable as it was.

There are no stakes, there's nothing to root for, nor is there anything to reflect and learn from. Everything happens because the script says it happens. And if there is in fact something profound hidden underneath all those layers of vapid cynicism like the "art crowd" says there is, then the movie does a horribly poor job even letting us know that there is.

But not everything I have to offer this movie is criticism. Because from a technical aspect, the movie is more than competent. I actually found Alps to be quite pleasing visually. The camerawork was so expertly done that I repeatedly found myself acknowledging the compositions. And even the actors did a pretty good job with what little was handed to them. Angeliki Papoulia stands out in particular; especially in the climactic "break-in" scene, where everything interesting about it was her performance.

Overall, this movie felt like someone was attempting the most exaggerated Lanthimos parody with every one of the director's signature tropes turned up to 11. Watch it only if you must.

I'm amazed this film was so similar to the bizarre yet alluring debut feature by Giorgos Lanthimos, "Dogtooth".

Its for this reason that it really bombs in my opinion. The concept of the story, the stylisation, shooting, the dry emotionless delivery of the characters, the sex acts, the violence, the patriarchal characters within it, the submissive female characters, the fact he is using one of the same lead actors, etc etc.

I could go on. The film is just too similar to Dogtooth in every way. And if your going to make such a stylised film similarity stands out even more I feel.

This is Dogtooth but just less alluring. OK, maybe its just a more obfuscated story and one that is more challenging it could be argued. Still when you've seen the previous film this seems like a weak tweaking of the same formula.

If you haven't seen Dogtooth go see it! I recommend it. If you do by chance see this before Dogtooth maybe you can pass it off as interesting and at least very unique, however it's hard to think this with the knowledge of what came before it.

I really hope Giorgos Lanthimos can develop a lot for a 3rd feature and dig himself out of the stylistic hole he seems to have dug.

If it is one thing I really love, it is being in a state of PARANOIA. In Yorgos Lanthimos's Alps, we follow a group of individuals, mainly gymnastic instructors, who basically began a business where they act as someones recently-diseased loved-one in order for the family (thinking of parents) cope with the grieving process. Sounds like a wacky story. Well, it is :).

As I like to mention before all my reviews, I have seen the previous work of Lanthimos. Mainly the very successful Greek film, Dogtooth, which is a dysfunctional family with the kids being taught the wrong things in order to be safe from the outside world. That one I loved.

BUT I ALSO LOVED THIS ONE! The small things that they do with the camera-work blows my mind. There are a lot of times where our main character, or so I think, simply named Nurse (played by Angeliki Papoulia who was in Dogtooth) speaks with another individual where we cannot see their face. It is either cut-out, blurred, or even covered by shadows. I love this. I have seen Kar-Wai Wong do it in a couple of his films. It adds a little mystery and confusion to the story. Do these people not matter? Will they matter? What have you!

The tone of the film is pretty much the same throughout it all. Some little indents here and there, but in my opinion, it is worth the watch, regardless how slow you think it is.

I just find it very fun to watch these type of people (broken) living there lives on a day to day basis. Not the major things they do throughout there day that effects them, but the small things that we rarely take notice of. Like small chit-chat with someone else, etc.

I must say, that as much as they seem they are pushing it away, I find this film very touching. The way they have to impersonate a family member who is dead makes up for the abnormal conversations. You can tell that when they are going through this process that they are acting; very badly, too. But that is how it would go. That is not something you can enjoy, nor hate. Nor will you think it's a good idea or bad. It just feels as though it is something to do.

Whilst not without interest, I thought Alps was a bit of a mess of a film. Maybe the dark satirical humour was lost in translation somewhat because The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer were two of my favourite films of their respective years. The Favourite less so, so perhaps not just a language barrier. Dogtooth was a wonderful kind of weird, but still didn't hit the heights of Lobster and TKOASD. After seeing Alps I'm not so sure I'm a huge YL fan after all. What the hell was it about other than a strange cult where 'members' act out the recently deceased so as to help people's grieving process? I like weird, but maybe this was a step too far. In all honesty it was a bit dull. A strangely diasappointing 5 out of ten, but yet I can't wait to see what he does next now he's got a huge box office hit under his belt. I think he should cast Colin Farrell - it's bound to be great!

Much of the enjoyment of viewing the work of director-writer Yorgos Lanthimos and co-writer Efthymis Filippou, for me at least, is in trying to figure out what's going on, so I'd recommend seeing them, "Alps" included, before reading reviews such as this one. The four movies of theirs that I've seen thus far (which also includes "Dogtooth" (2009), "The Lobster" (2015) and "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" (2017)) all seem to exist in alternate realities and forgo much of the sort of exposition that makes most movies easily accessible. Moreover, the characteristic affectless acting from the duo's oeuvre dissuades the spectator from identifying with the characters, and the editing and compositions often obfuscate more than they elaborate on happenings. Distant shots remove more than they reveal and close-ups conceal rather than involve.

I suspect many are confused by searching for meaning in these movies, and that that's why so many strain to apply some social commentary to them. I think that's off-base, and if that were their raison d'être, I would've already abandoned them. Perhaps, they do reflect our society--our world in some ways, but I don't find that appealing; more so, I consider them self-reflexive of their own storytelling--of the art of cinema. This is especially the case with the filmmakers' two earlier Greek productions, this and "Dogtooth." In the prior one, the characters were confined by a fabricated narrative--metaphorically and literally held captive within a movie--with that world, rather paradoxically, upset and expanded by VHS tapes of movies. "Alps" is the inverse of this, with characters desperately and intentionally trying to shrink their world into fabricated narratives and using qualities of cinema (performance and storytelling) to do so, to metaphorically enter the movie. Here, the main characters are actors, who employ a stiff or deadpan style, to replace dead people in the lives of the deceased's family and friends, who themselves become both actors and spectators to the fabrications of their own lives, equated to cinema as they are. To do so, the actors largely rely upon questions involving favorite performers: movie stars and musical pop sensations, particularly.

The actors proclaim themselves the "Alps," because that mountain range can replace any other (as they do with the dead), they say, and the name doesn't specifically describe them (their identities outside of acting largely being a moot point, anyways). As actors, they inhabit different narratives within the overall arch that is the movie, with the stories becoming crisscrossed for everyone: characters and the spectator. Meanwhile, there are other forms of performance, as well: dance, including the gymnastics routines, sex and violence. The only deadly sin for the Alps is to fall out of character. Without their characters and their narratives--without the performance, they perish.

Giorgos Lanthimos wowed critics with his somewhat entertaining freakshow Dogtooth a while back. This is his follow-up, and it represents all of the aspects of Dogtooth I hated and had none of the (very minor) strengths. It is, first and foremost, an enormous bore. The actual content of the film is negligible and it's absolutely full of pregnant pauses and unnecessary bits. What content there is is awful. It's a film about people who do things that real people would never do and acting ways people would never act. I frankly just don't see the point in any of this. The story revolves around a group of people (calling themselves the Alps) who will, for a fee, take the place of deceased loved ones. Like Dogtooth, there's a lot of nudity and humiliating sex, but there's nothing salacious or shocking here. It's all very clinical. About the only good thing I can say about the film is that Lanthimos definitely has a good eye for visuals. Really, though, I'd rate this as the worst movie I've seen from 2012 so far.

Two years after his international hit «Kynodontas», Yorgos Lanthimos released «Alpeis», which is as good as the previous, winning the Best Screenplay award at the Venezia film festival, as well as other distinctions in Sydney and Sofia. However the film was unjustly appreciated: as people say, "comparisons are unfair" and the reception of «Alpeis» proves it, as audiences and film critics were expecting another portrait of canine confinement. This time the filmmaker opted for theatricality, games of appearance and perception, he opted for a tale that fluctuates between drama and comedy, inclined to the absurdist aspects in the representation of reality. «Alpeis» is more realistic than its predecessor, but not because of this it lacks images expressing "artistic flights". On the other hand, Lanthimos touches death, a subject that frequently frightens people, when it is one of the few things we humans can have for sure. The story though does not present descriptions of demises, but a group called "Alpeis" that offers a peculiar service to mourners: a temporary substitute for the deceased, with a fixed fee, while the grievers adapt to the loss of their loved ones. Their varied clientèle includes the parents of a young tennis player, a blind and cuckolded old lady, a local man that communicates in English, a naval officer… At the same time the same personnel conforms a small group of gymnasts and trainers that gather in a sports hall. However the plot is built around a young nurse (played by splendid Angeliki Papoulia, who was the older sister in «Kynodontas»), her tribulations and twisting. The social and economic crisis of the country does not have a central place in Yorgos Lanthimos' cinema, as in the movies of other of his compatriots, but for the stories he tells Lanthimos vividly suggests that something is rotten in the state of Greece.

There are lots of great ideas of storytelling here, alas its poorly executed. The cinematography and some of the acting are the only thing that be saved. The story is poorly served by a disastrous mise-en-scene, most of the scene are pointless and as interesting as watching paint dry on a wall (I take that back, I'd rather watch paint dry than this boring pretentious and morbid excuse of a film). It's bleak, sometimes ludicrous because it's often absolutely not plausible, some of the dialogues are so terrible its not even laughable ... it's plain mediocre and it has nothing to say, nothing to show, neither beauty or ugliness ... I stopped watching that film numerous times to do something else ... do the washing up, vacuum my room, clean the toilets, take the trash out and read a good 20 pages of a book about Kant ... things I have been meant to do for ages ... that's how boring that film is

Lathnimos has managed -through his films "kinneta" , "dogtooth" , "Alps" , " Lobster" and "killing of the sacred deer"- to create his own autistic and sourreal universe . Everything seems deranged but soon you are drawn to it , become a part of it and then it's like an interesting parallel reality showcasing some points for our real world.

This film has a very interesting concept and the acting matches the whole idea perfectly. Although it's a slow film it kept me interested until the end.

Rating 8/10 for uniqueness.

I enjoy alternative movies, I actively seek them out in fact as I find mainstream Hollywood rather dull and repetitive most of the time... and this IS an alternative move... unfortunately for the director it is however perhaps the worst I have ever seen. The main, principal story line of this movie had potential, but the way the director has actually created the movie is very boring and stupid. I advise that despite if like me you found the description interesting, you don't waste your time watching it, because I want my evening back. My partner also likes alternative movies and she also found the movie a waste of time. If this leaves you lacking a movie for tonight and you enjoy alternative cinema, go for a good David Lynch movie.

While it's not true of all his works, I came to know Yorgos Lanthimos for the distinctive traits he instilled in the first few of his films I watched. In 'Dogtooth,' 'The lobster,' and 'The killing of a sacred deer,' the storytelling and character dynamics are typified by direct and plainspoken dialogue, and abnormal social dynamics, that portend very open personal boundaries if not a total lack thereof; and a pointedly dry, flat tone that accentuates and amplifies what comes off to any average viewer as deeply uncomfortable, gawky situations. It's safe to say that 'Alps,' following a group of people who impersonate the recently deceased for bereaved clients, fits well within that same broad model, especially as characters are spotlighted in ways that call their mental states and relationships into question. I think this 2011 feature comes off as perhaps slightly less refined, but I wonder if that doesn't actually work in its favor. All facets of the screenplay - written between the filmmaker and regular collaborator Efthymis Filippou - dialogue, characters, scene writing, narrative - speak to an unusual intimacy in which barriers between people are very consciously removed, reflected not just in how characters speak and act but how they carry themselves when they are ostensibly by themselves, and acting for themselves. Alongside Lanthimos' direction and Christos Voudouris' cinematography, wherein even the basic framing is often very up close and personal, most every component part suggests an intense closeness or magnification through which imperfections become more readily perceptible. Thus if in any measure it's true that the picture lacks some degree of polish, it fits with the overall vibe.

The scenario and story that Lanthimos and Filippou conjured is roundly fascinating; even as some scenes evoke a sense of vicarious embarrassment for how awkward they look or feel, we're kept locked in for the long haul. Particularly with the nurse character who is more or less centered as a protagonist the movie becomes a sort of free-form exploration of who more greatly needs the artificial relationships that the Alps' activities facilitate, and to some further extent of what becomes of relationships when any and/or all such delineated boundaries are set aside. The cast is a treasure in bringing the tableau to bear, though those familiar with the director's other works will be grateful to recognize recurring star Angeliki Papoulia, who was such a tremendous presence in 'Dogtooth' especially. This is another oddity, for sure, but definitely kith and kin with Lanthimos' other titles, and I could scarcely be more happy with just how engrossing it is. Everything here looks and sounds terrific, including costume design, hair, makeup, and even lighting, and a scattering of stunts and effects, and the result should be very pleasing for anyone who is a fan of the weird, wide possibilities that cinema has to offer. I really don't think there's any going wrong with Lanthimos' oeuvre, and for as curious and excellent as it is, I'm glad to give 'Alps' my very high recommendation right alongside its brethren.

Alps was so close to becoming another brilliant Yorgos Lanthimos film but, unfortunately, it fell flat as nondescript, self-absorbed attempt at creating significance out of absurdity.

I know for fact that Lanthimos is brilliant and he is one of my favorite filmmakers, but I can't pretend to enjoy this one. I never complained about Lanthimos' abnormal-made-normal stories and techniques and I never will (I love them actually); this movie, however, lacked the glue that hold these elements together and came out as an uttered great line.

Alps is a good idea ruined by execution. Sorry, Lanthimos.

Lanthimos directs this psychological thriller to perfection, yet some familiar with his work might see it undermined by a script that feels like a sort of "dogtooth 2" rather than a "standing on to feet" exercise. You get the bizarre and borderline sadomasochistic dialogue, the awkward dances, the profoundly unsettling camera work and angles, the drab, grim lighting throughout and performances that surprise as much as they disturb. But that's not a bad thing because Lanthimos continues to dissect human emotion with an uncanny talent.

And yet, it is another masterpiece. The ending hits like a ton of bricks is probably one of the best takes on human grief and reaction to one's loved ones death . As usual the ending is perfect, like with all Lanthimos movies, and as usual, the camera will work is excellent but slightly undermined by the lack of budget just like everything he directed until "the killing..."

That said, criticizing this movie because we have come to expect the most incredible from this specific director feels terribly unfair. The attention given to Alps is just as meticulous as every other movie he directed, including the dedicate handling of how we relate to grief without ever being judgmental in the treatment of the characters.

Just like " enemy" this is a movie you cannot judge until you have watched the last frame.