Sweet Bunch (1983)

In response to Italian critics who claimed that his debut feature Euridice BA 2037 (1975) “finally proves Lyotard’s cinematographic theories as well as the solution to many of the problems which puzzled Pasolini for years”, Nikos Nikolaidis humorously remarked “I am embarassed because I didn’t know then and I still don’t know anything about Lyotard’s theories or Pasolini’s problems.” Nevertheless, there is a certain parallel between Nikolaidis and Pasolini. Much like Pasolini, who preferred to explore the more underground and downtrodden aspects of Italian society, never once pointing his camera at one of Rome's many historical monuments, the same could be said of Nikolaidis who always focused on those on the fringes of Greek society, no shots of the Acropolis to be found. It was of course a natural decision on Nikolaidis' part with the director himself being an outsider in the realm of Greek film, treated like a pariah by the Greek Film Commission who did their best to give Nikolaidis a constant headache, holding back funding and even going so far as preventing his work from playing internationally at festivals. Nikolaidis' defiant attitude first drew the ire of the authorities with his second feature The Wretches are StillSinging (1979) and his outsider status was solidified with 1983's Sweet Bunch, a film described by the president of the GFC at the time as being unfit for the Greek public to see.

Three friends, Argyris, Marina and Sofia, soon joined by Andreas, fresh out of prison, live a nihilistic existence, sharing an apartment paid for by Sofia, living day to day by any means necessary, usually through petty crime. Their stagnation is interrupted by a mysterious stranger lurking outside their apartment who soon becomes a constant presence, much to the annoyance of the group. When others begin showing up to talk to the mysterious stranger, the group begins to grow increasingly paranoid and begins to believe they are being spied on, the tension finally boiling over when Roza, an adult film actress the gang had let into their fold somewhat and whom Andreas had taken a liking to, is found nearly dead after being slashed in the gangs apartment, forcing the gang to take up arms in preparation for the inevitable bloody showdown.

In many ways Sweet Bunch (Glykia Symmoria, Γλυκιά Συμμορία) could be considered the quintessential Nikolaidis film. Although the majority of the key ideas Nikolaidis would continuously explore were fairly well formed in Euridice BA 2037 and The Wretches are Still Singing, with Sweet Bunch everything becomes concrete. Although not a part of Nikolaidis' “Shape of the Coming Nightmare” trilogy, Sweet Bunch shares the sense of vagueness that permeates those films. Much like its never explained how society descended into a totalitarian dystopia in the “Coming Nightmare” films, the exact reason for the surveillance of the gang in Sweet Bunch remains somewhat elusive, although politics surely plays a role. While the crimes of the gang are ultimately inconsequential, hardly requiring such an extreme response by the state, the metaphor of a police state at war with idealists is no doubt going to spring to mind for many. The group dynamic established in The Wretches is further expanded, and although the gang at the heart of film could be classified as sociopathic, Nikolaidis establishes a sense of solidarity with them, and as the film progresses it becomes nearly impossible not to full embrace them and feel as territorial, wanting to stand guard alongside them, making the films final third all the more devastating. The surreal comedy from The Wretches is also carried over, Sofia's pastime involving staged necrophilia being especially hilarious and Nikolaidis once again showcases his impeccable musical tastes, most noticeably with the inclusion of two deep cuts from Black Sabbath's Technical Ecstasy album.

A curious thing occurred before the film began production. As Nikolaidis recalls, “A few days before we started shooting, some unusual strangers, resembling Che Guevara’s cousins appeared before me and said: “Give us your script, we’ll read it and let you know whether you should make this movie”. Of course, I gave it to them. Two days later, they returned it saying “We approve, you can go ahead”. And I went ahead and shot it. What do you have to say about that?” Although the film came about fairly easy, aforementioned incident aside, Nikoliadis said that, while he loves the film, its actually not one of his favorites when compared to others as he states “It's a film that came out very easily. In other words, I kind of had this film in my mind way before I shot it. It's not one of my favorite films. It was way to easy for me... The reason I love this film is because of the people in the crew... all these people that lived together for those six months, they decorated the house on their own, they contributed to the script..."  Despite the film not being one of Nikolaidis' favorites, and although the film can be quite intimidating be it the heavy run time or the at times opaque narrative, Sweet Bunch may very well may be the perfect starting point for Nikolaidis newcomers.