Review of Papadopoulos & Sons (2012) by Adlai N — 07 Jun 2014

I have always been a fan different cultures being healthily represented on film and not be subjected to the likes of a parody. It's refreshing to see characters be affected by real life events and not have some political agenda lambasting whatever political party may or may have not been responsible for it. With that it feels real and original than it have been done in a mainstream market like the United States. I feel clichés would have been exercised fervently to minimal effect severely affecting the tone of the movie. It doesn't happen here. The emotions and feelings feel like they would happen anywhere. It may follow a traditional model, but thanks to its original script and engaging characters you'd be glad you had the time to take the trip.

The story is nothing too original as we've all seen this before. We all know of the rich snob who gets taken down a peg when he loses everything. But it's the way that the story unfolds that makes this stand out from the rest of the derivative pack. It's the way that the title character Harry adapts to his surroundings despite his best efforts not too. And why would he not adapt. He has been inundated with a lifestyle that he loves dearly and wanting to leave his squalor beginnings behind him forever. But it's because he's away from the glamour that he sees how wrong he has made himself and tries to fix it. He risks everything when he decides to open the fish and chips restaurant with his brother. It's not only himself but his kids too suffered from his snobbery. He hardly spends anytime with them but would rather build his next billion dollar project. Harry later realizes that family is the most important thing and would rather spend time with them knowing what makes them happy. It gradually reveals itself in layers and you see how and why they eventually succeed. It doesn't hit you on the head or make you feel stupid like some films of today would do.

All the characters were really well thought up. Harry Papadopoulos played the jaded snob especially well. He forgoes happiness by not letting go of the past and obsessed with not letting go of the former prestigious life he once had. He is further helped to adapt to new surroundings by his eccentric brother Spiro's Papadopoulos, whom since he has been growing apart. They represent a mirror image of themselves in social standing, monetary and familial values but are joined as one by their shared love of cooking and the restaurant that Harry left years ago. Together they help each other cope with what went wrong together and finding that spark for cooking again. They both have an interesting dynamic together that you just hope everything will work out alright. I liked that the kids were all so vastly different but still loved each other. They all have their own unique style and passions. No one is viewed as a jerk or brat like some movies portrays teenagers. The character of the accountant Rob acts exactly like I would expect one to act especially in this economic climate. He's rude, obnoxious, and cold and only cares about money. He's also funny since it feels so real and you can't believe someone would act this way. It's rather enjoyable to see such a jerk bask in his ignorance.

The themes were very prevalent throughout the movie but not making it so obviously overt. It displays how to measure success in a landscape where that only matters. You have to find what makes you happy and not decide for your own children, hoping that they make the decisions for themselves. It shows it's never too late to find exactly what you've always wanted and for whatever reason not going out and do it. And all together money isn't all that important if it keeps you away from the ones you love.

In two particular scenes, it shows living beyond your means in a nut shell. Harry had a statue of a $200,000 gold fish in his office where he didn't even need the office either. He was told the point of buying a statue at that cost when he's about to lose everything. Later in the movie there was a scene where Spiro has a mounted fish all dusty and abandoned in the restaurant. While not as shiny or prestigious, it means so much more than money could ever buy. The gold fish looks nice but leaves you empty while the other leaves you fulfilled. You could say this about so many people around the world who mindlessly spend on things they don't need forgetting what got them there in the first place. In a world obsessed with monetary value, too many people accept materialism forgoing the all too important value of happiness.

Usually when a movie mentions a war that ravaged ones country and people, you'd expect it to get political. But when the movie mentioned the Turkish-Greek war it didn't paint anyone as a villain or who's better. It just showed how it affected the characters with no political agenda. When Harry moves in to the street, the neighboring Turkish restaurant isn't viewed less than them or wrong. There just two businesses trying to make money.

Watching a movie like this can make you feel like a foreigner as not everyone is familiar with the specific culture, especially if you're not from the continent of Europe. But a familiar story, engaging characters, and a good script makes it easy to adapt to any culture like the Papadopoulos have, forgoing any culture divide. It's not overly cheesy or formulaic but surprisingly sweet with its basic sentiments. It asks the right questions that should be asked in this economic climate. This is mainly about adaptability when dealt with an odd card and realizing that money may get you wherever you want to go, but it also may get you away from the things that you love. Four fish and chips out of five.