See You in Hell, My Darling (1999)

While all the films of Nikos Nikolaidis are connected by a set of key ideas, one of the most interesting things regarding his filmography is how six out of his eight theatrical features form two trilogies. The most obvious being “The Shape of the Coming Nightmare” trilogy, consisting of Nikolaidis' debut feature Euridice BA 2037 (1973), Morning Patrol (1987) and Nikolaidis' final film The Zero Years (2005), all three focusing on a dystopian future with its remaining inhabitants placed under constant surveillance. Another, more loosely defined trilogy forms out of The Wretches are Still Singing (1979), Sweet Bunch (1983) and Loser Takes All (2002) with the focus being on a collective of outsiders on the fringes of Greek society. Nikolaidis' two remaining features stand totally on their own outside of the trilogy concept while still featuring many of the same obsessions that fuel Nikolaidis work as a whole. Singapore Sling (1990), Nikolaidis' most well known film outside of Greece is one such work and it would be nine nears before Nikolaidis would follow it up (setting aside the 1993 made-for-TV curiosity The Girl With the Suitcases) with another film that stands completely on its own. Even in a body of work filled with unique films, 1999's See You in Hell, My Darling manages to stick out just a bit more, so much so that the film could easily be considered Nikolaidis' magnum opus.

Nikolaidis' most surreal and inaccessible film, See You in Hell, My Darling (Tha se Do stin Kolasi Agapi mou, Θα σε Δω στην Κόλαση Αγάπη μου) is in a class of films alongside the likes of Andrzej Zulawski's Possession (1981) and David Lynch's Lost Highway (1997), films that certainty aren't plotless yet any attempt to summarize them is an ultimately futile endeavor. The film focuses one three characters, Elsa, Vera and a nameless man who spends the majority of the film floating face down in Elsa's pool, presumably dead, occasionally joining the two girls. Through Robbe-Grillet-esque fragmentation, Nikolaidis precedes to tell the tale of their doomed triangle while still leaving plenty open to interpretation as to what their current situation is. It's clear that there was a love triangle, with the man and Elsa once married and Vera getting in the middle. Its also clear that there was a robbery and money was to be split between the three. What Nikolaidis leaves out in the open is the exact nature of the relationship between Elsa and Vera. Obviously best friends at one point, the hint of a romantic relationship between the two is there but again, nothing is made clear and the same could be said of the affections of the man as well. The power dynamic between the Elsa and Vera is fascinating, with both alternating between dominant and submissive as well as love and hatred, all brilliantly realized in the performances of the gorgeous duo of Vicky Harris and Valeria Christodoulidou.

The film is, despite the use of the word “Hell” in the title, Nikolaidis' most explicit in the way it explores the idea of purgatory and being stuck, both from a physical standpoint but also in a state of mind. It's as if purgatory for all three characters is their own private Hell's, forever doomed to repeat the same events over and over as a form of otherworldly karma, making the film the most overtly supernatural and horror based of Nikolaidis' works, something which is also apparent from the films visuals which are some of the most astonishing in Nikolaidis' cannon. A stylist from the very beginning from the start black and white photography of Euridice BA 2037 (1975) to the neon colors of Sweet Bunch (1983), See You in Hell, My Darling trumps them all in every aspect from a visual standpoint with a slick, almost erotic thriller type of look to the film, complete with Borowczyk like attention to detail and as well as highly stylized lighting, particularly for every scene involving the pool. Again, the film is Nikolaidis' most abstract with flashbacks to the aftermath of the trio's crime somewhat recalling the bleached out flashbacks from Donald Cammell's White of the Eye (1987), and even feature Disney-esque masks ala the opening robbery in Zulawski's L'amour braque (1985). Nikolaidis also utilizes music in an interesting way, making Etta James' “I Found a Love” the theme of the movie as well as a plot point signaling the man's entrance in a scene.

The film was a personal favorite of Nikolaidis who expressed his love for the world he created in the film by saying “I feel wonderful inside this after-world of guilt, lost time, memories of my past and of my future. Naturally, this is where I seek all of my loves. Besides, the girls of paradise are so boring.” He would also say “This movie is a necro-romance about the darkness and the thrashing humidity of unfulfilled desires and of ghosts. It’s where those marvelous carnivorous flowers of noir film blossom.” In an interview discussing his career, Nikolaidis described the film as an “automated film” as he wrote the script in one go without edits. He went on to call the film “A dive into a foggy, damp and rotten subconscious... very personal film. Not one the public loves... Too damp, this film, and too tender at the same time”. The film was apparently difficult to complete, though in the same interview Nikolaidis said the manner in which he worked on the film was the method he preferred and its hard to argue with the results. Nikolaidis' work as a whole may present several difficulties for those unaccustomed to eccentric films but See You in Hell, My Darling reaches new levels of eccentricity even by Nikolaidis' standards. His most challenging film by far, but also his masterpiece and an essential piece of fringe cinema.

Morning Patrol (1987)

Interesting things are bound to happen whenever an independently minded maverick filmmaker tries their hand at science fiction as for all the successes there are also some pretty legendary horror stories. Chief among them being the Polish government shutting down the production of Andrzej Zulawski's On the Silver Globe (1977/88) and Richard Stanley's unceremonious firing from his dream project The Island of Dr. Moraeu (1996). There's also of course Alejandro Jodorowsky's failed attempts to adapt Dune into a film and David Lynch's subsequent 1984 film, which Lynch himself considers a failure due to his not having final cut. On the opposite end of the spectrum would be Paul Verhoeven, who found some of his greatest success in the sci-fi genre with RoboCop (1987), Total Recall (1990) and Starship Troopers (1997) and even Abel Ferrara who, despite numerous instances of studio interference, delivered a fantastic rendition of Body Snatchers (1993) and later a fascinating adaptation of William Gibson's cyberpunk story New Rose Hotel (1998). The sociopolitical allegories often found in the genre make it tailor-made for many of the aforementioned directors sensibilities, Verhoeven especially, so it made perfect sense for Greek outlaw Nikos Nikolaidis, who had been fighting against the system from the beginning, to step into the sci-fi realm and when the time came he had the perfect material with Morning Patrol, the second film in Nikolaidis' “Shape of the Coming Nightmare” trilogy.

In an unspecified future, a nomadic drifter (Michele Valley) traverses what has become of Athens which is controlled by a totalitarian dictatorship, in hopes of reaching the sea as a means of escape. Traveling at night in an attempt to avoid being caught and shot by the Morning Patrol, the government's police force ordered to shoot any and all persons out in the forbidden zones, the woman finds food and temporary shelter by breaking into abandoned houses. After one such stop however she encounters a Morning Patrol guard and quickly realizes he's as desperate to escape as she. Despite the dangers including other Morning Patrol officers aware of the guards treason and a mysterious illness affecting the guard, the two make a pact to travel west and attempt to reach the sea with the threat of death following their every move.

In Nikolaidis' fist feature Euridice BA 2037 (1975) which was also the first film in the “Shape of the Coming Nightmare” trilogy, Nikolaidis kept the majority of the film confined to the titular Euridice's apartment. With Morning Patrol (Proini Peripolos, πρωϊνή περίπολος), Nikolaidis extensively expands the palate, effectively turning all of Athens into a wasteland, offering a truly nightmarish vision of the future, or possibly the present. Just like in Euridice BA 2037, one of the more curious yet effective things regarding Morning Patrol is the sense of vagueness surrounding everything. It's never explained exactly what happened to make the world the way it is, be it war, disease, nuclear fallout, ect... It just is, which in effect makes the journey of the woman and the guard all the more harrowing, even with the mystery surrounding their characters as both remain enigmatic throughout. The films setting is also interesting. While its clear the film is supposed to be somewhat futuristic, Nikolaidis' aesthetic choices give the film a variety of flavors, at times post-apocalyptic given the sparseness of everything but there are times when the film also feels contemporary which again makes it seem as if Nikolaidis is saying the “future” depicted in the film had already arrived in 1987 and most interestingly, a touch of 1940's noir which fits surprisingly well. Nikolaidis also brilliantly avoids cliché when it comes to the developing relationship between the woman and guard, sidestepping any mawkish Hollywood-esque sentimentality in keeping with bleakness of the world the film presents.

The films biggest strength is unquestionably Michele Valley in her first role for Nikolaidis. A captivating presence who's impossible to look away from, the film wouldn't have been the same without her and the determination she brings to her nameless warrior. She would of course go onto to be one of Nikolaidis' most dependable performers, becoming completely unhinged in Nikolaidis' most infamous film Singapore Sling (1990) and she would appear in a very different type of role in the final “Shape of the Coming Nightmare” film, Nikolaidis final film The Zero Years (2005). Nikolaidis would rightfully proclaim the film to be ahead of its time and admitted being deeply affected by his own work, saying in an interview “Morning Patrol is a film that I still am afraid to watch. For many, its my best film, I'm just afraid of watching it. Because its a film speaking about all the things I was afraid that would come true and they finally all came true. Silence, ice, broken communication, lack of emotions, murder... I don't want to talk about this film. It disturbs me”. Being a Nikolaidis film, Morning Patrol is of course unique in the realm of sci-fi and given how certain things have played out around the globe since the film was made, it fits right in with the likes of On the Silver Globe and Hardware (1990). An essential Nikolaidis title.