Some of Greece’s best features will be shown to the world through a motion picture that hit Australian cinemas this June.
The Two Faces of January, starring Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst and Oscar Isaac, is the first film in more than 20 years to receive permission to shoot at the sacred site of the Acropolis, a site generally off-limits for shooting movies.
Greece is perceived to be a protagonist as Hossein Amini’s directorial talents capture the stunning scenery of Plaka and Crete – Chania, Chalepa and Heraklion. Filming also took place in Istanbul, Turkey.
The film is adapted from the novel of the same title by The Talented Mr Ripley author Patricia Highsmith. It is a stylish psychological thriller that focuses on a conman, his wife and a young scam artist.
The movie, the directorial debut of the British-Iranian screenwriter, is set in Athens of 1962, where Rydal (Oscar Isaac), a young American tourist guide making extra cash by scamming foreigners, befriends a well-off American couple, middle-aged Chester (Mortensen) and his considerably younger wife, Colette (Kirsten Dunst).
On his way to the couple’s room one night, Rydal witnesses Chester pulling a private eye’s dead body along the hotel corridor. A major con man, Chester is on the run from his victims. Shortly after, Rydal offers his services to help Chester smooth out his troubles.
When the trio travel to the island of Crete for a few days, a second fatal incident throws the seemingly carefree Rydal into new turmoil.
Predicted to be this European summer season’s blockbuster, with plenty of suspense and a wonderful reconstruction of 1960s Greece, The Two faces of January is currently showing at local cinema theatres – Palace Cinemas, Como and Nova Cinemas.