The Zero Years (2005)

Judging the legacy of a filmmaker can be a difficult thing given that any artist's work is bound to be judged differently by each individual, be they fans or detractors. Even among the field of divisive filmmakers, Nikos Nikolaidis is a particularly interesting case in that his work is widely viewed through a Greek perspective, with the majority of his films being underrepresented outside of his home country. Outside of Greece, Nikolaidis is probably always going to be the “crazy” man behind Singapore Sling (1990) but his body of work as a whole is deserving of a more nuanced evaluation. It's going to sound cliché, but like so many individualistic filmmakers, if there's one legacy left behind by Nikolaidis, it would be one of freedom. An extreme personality, Nikolaidis was the type who, when pushed, pushed back even harder which of course did him no favors with the Greek Film Commission who fought to keep Nikolaidis' work hidden. Nikolaidis' defiance won him a loyal cult following which is still strong to this day with a younger generation of Greek film fans discovering his work. Nikolaidis would pass in 2007, but not before completing one last, potent view of the world as he saw it, bringing his career full circle with The Zero Years in 2005, completing the Shape of the Coming Nightmare trilogy which began with his first feature Euridice BA 2037 (1975).

Much like See You in Hell, My Darling (1999), The Zero Years is far from a conventionally plotted film. Taking place entirely within a brothel under nonstop surveillance by a fascistic government, herkening back to the isolated setting as in Euridice BA 2037, the three main residents are soon joined by a fourth who believes her stay will be brief before receiving a transfer. Forcibly sterilized by the powers that be, the girls are ordered to dish out sadistic beatings to costumers and perform solo dances in front of rabid onlookers, only to face more oppression when a costumer goes missing, all the while fantasizing of retreating to “the sea”, the ideal destination of the protagonists of Morning Patrol (1987), the second film in the Shape of the Coming Nightmare trilogy.

Again, the film is Nikolaidis coming full circle as not only does The Zero Years complete the Shape of the Coming Nightmare trilogy, taking place in the wasteland envisioned in Euridice BA 2037 and Morning Patrol, the group dynamic of the four girls gives it much in common with Nikolaids' loose trilogy of The Wretches are Still Singing (1979), Sweet Bunch (1983) and Loser TakesAll (2002) and like in those films, the bond between the characters creates a strong feeling of solidarity, the two standouts of the group being Vicky Harris and Jenny Kitselli who previously stole in the show in See You In Hell and Loser Takes All respectively. The world the film takes place in is yet another example of Nikolaidis' obsession with the idea of purgatory, Harris' character being almost an extension of Euridice with her hopeful, yet ultimately futile promises of a transfer and better life outside the brothel only to feel constantly stuck in the nightmare the outside world has become. While the similarities with Nikolaidis' other films are numerous, one aspect where the film differs greatly is in the visuals. Whereas Nikolaidis' other films are highly stylized, The Zero Years by contrast is as visually morose as its mood, shot on grungy digital video with a washed out and seedy look. The film is also aligned with Singapore Sling and See You In Hell in being one of Nikolaidis' most horror-based with its sadomasochistic imagery and the hints of the girls being visited by violent specters.

Fascinatingly, although the film closes out the Shape of the Coming Nightmare trilogy and Nikolaidis' filmography as a whole, the story was developed even before Euridice BA 2037 and originally was intended to be the middle film in the trilogy with Morning Patrol being the finale and the one to finally show what the outside world had become, though the circling back to one singular interior location ala Euridice BA 2037 made The Zero Years the ideal final chapter. Nikolaidis said of the film “Silence, chemical suppression, state fascism, broken communication, fear and apathy have all been installed for good... It would be a mistake to interpret this as a futuristic story. No matter how harsh it may appear this movie is about the shape of things that are already here and established, along with the set of things that are just starting to be applied, while we already feel their consequences... Any other approach to the meaning of the movie, will fling it to the domain of futurism and I, assisted by the direction, want to talk about a story of today, instead of being misunderstood about describing something that will happen someday, somewhere.” Nikolaidis would also proclaim “...the nightmare evolves to where I had predicted. I have got nothing else to say”, thus making The Zero Years the definitive final statement from one of the most original voices in world cinema.

“I have a faint impression that we’re all heading towards Hell, and that Rita Hayworth will never come to our rendezvous.” - Nikos Nikolaidis