Demosthenes (Yorgos Tsiantoulas) a 30-something-year-old former actor and serial monogamist alongside bestie, aspiring filmmaker Nikitas (Andreas Labropoulos) spend their summer days on a rock-strewn nudist beach in the periphery of Athens. The loose premise of this quaint Greek gay dramedy is the ever-evolving bromance and their collaborative effort to draft a script Nikitas is due to submit to an elusive b-movie producer. The script is based on a momentous summer a few years earlier, when Demosthenes rescued an adorable pooch Carmen from his ex Panos (Nikolaos Mihas).
A buddy movie only in name, as the focus remains almost entirely on Demosthenes, who spends a considerable amount of the film fully unclothed. It’s hard not interpret the ubiquitousness of Demosthenes’ naked body as anything but a fascination with it by the film’s director, Zacharias Mavroeidis. Shot from every conceivable angle; his broad muscular frame coated in thick dark fur personifies all the physical attributes of Greek virility as well as gay bear porn fantasies. Mavroiedis bestows him with quirks and insecurities in order to soften his edges, but standing next to Nikitas twink-ish, free-spiritedness accentuates further his natural poker-faced gay alpha-maleness.
As Nikitas is relegated to role of sidekick and sounding board, all his scenes are shared with Demosthenes, Labropoulos still excels within the limits of his role. Gifted with acerbic one-liners which continually puncture Demosthenes’ façade of self-control, as well as an entertaining retelling of growing up on a remote island and having an affair with the local priest. There are minute hints that he may have had feelings for Demosthenes, with these sensations now morphed to agitation in their one-sided co-dependent relationship.
Demosthenes’s idiosyncrasies appear correlated to his family dynamics. This particular strand injects a dose of reality to an otherwise upbeat portrayal of Athenian queer life. An aloof and cold mother and an ailing father who is heard but never seen; their son’s homosexuality is disapproved, opting to completely ignore it. A state-of-play which corners Demosthenes into self-censorship, a messy mix of deep-seated resentment and appeasement. In the throes of heartbreak and loss his unable to comprehend or communicate his feelings, resorting to lies and manipulations as a copying mechanism.
Events are separated into chapters guided by a script, which Nikitas uses in order to draft his own movie narrative. Oscillating between the present and the past, this metatextual technique proves at times a little confusing. Parallel strands appear indistinct. An arbitrary directorial choice that conjures a sense of affectedness, which is further emboldened by a stilted dialogue peppered by self-deprecating humor, faux intellectual rumination and on-the-nose cinephile references. To boot, there is a touch of gay tick-boxing, featuring rehashed tropes of pride marches, cruising scenes and grinder hook-ups.
The setting is where the film comes to life. The slow pace allows the viewer to soak up in a beautiful version of Athens. A stand-alone character, the big historical city meets relaxed beach vibes. Quaint streets, lush flora and towering bougainvilleas, low-fi bars and cafes are set against a hilly typography. The interior and the exterior of modern architecture buildings from the 1930s add a delectable finishing touch
Overall, this is a welcome addition to the canon of Greek queer cinema. It recalls and references Greek LGBT+ classic Strella (Panos H. Koutras, 2009), a movie a lot darker than this 2025 film.
The Summer With Carmen is released in cinemas on Friday, February 28th. On BFI Player on Monday, April 7th.
