The Idlers of the Fertile Valley by Nikos Panayotopoulos (1978)

Having returned to Greece from Paris and a few years after his directorial debut with The Color of Iris, Nikos Panayotopoulos in his second film already leaves his mark on the domestic cinematic landscape with perhaps the most defining film of his filmography. A wealthy member of the upper class and his three sons stay in a country villa where they start to succumb to idleness, free from the need for any work. Immobility becomes contagious and spreads in their world to the point that they look like living dead. They come out of lethargy only for food and sex. A son tries to leave with the maid, but before leaving he feels tiredness overcoming his body, and he sleeps on the spot. Another son sleeps incessantly. Is there a way out of the pleasure of laziness? In this world of mentally old, lazy males, only the female servant is the one who represents a positive energy of movement, of will.

Panagiotopoulos, in this early work that flourishes over time, completes a dark satire that looks with pity on the bourgeoisie of the time, highlighting its laziness and decline. A descendant of a Buñuel and a forerunner of the Greek cinema that followed, the film is allegorical without ever being trapped in (its) time, maintaining its surreal power as well as its light dimension that has turned it into a timeless classic favorite.

Golden Leopard (Locarno Film Festival 1978), Best Film, Best Cinematography, Best Sets & Best Editing Awards (Thessaloniki Film Festival 1978), Bronze Hugo (Chicago Film Festival 1978)

Script: Nikos Panayotopoulos (based on Albert Cossery’s novel)
Cinematography: Andreas Bellis
Editing: Giorgos Triandafyllou
Music: Gustav Mahler (selection from his work)
Sets & Costumes: Dionysis Fotopoulos
Sound: Nikos Ahladis
Make-up Artist: Fani Alexaki
Production: Alix Film Productions Ltd.

Cast: Olga Karlatou, Yorgos Dialegmenos, Nikitas Tsakiroglou, Dimitris Poulikakos, Vasilis Diamantopoulos, Kostas Sfikas, Ivi Mavridi, Thanasis Koniaris