Product Description

Award-winning director Panos Karkanevatos (Earth & Water, Borderline) takes us on a voyeur's journey of discovery as a documentary film crew struggles to piece together the events that led to a beautiful woman's death. Loula is a sexy young Greek woman who dreams of escaping her grimy industrial town to become a singer in a nearby city. She begins a torrid affair with Kosmos, a visiting stranger, in the hope that he would take her away, but soon discovers that even he is trapped. Kosmos is shattered when Loula finally leaves and tracks, a few months later, tracks her down. After Kosmos professes his love for her one last passionate night unfolds, a night that Loula would not survive.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #134077 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-09-27
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: Greek
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 88 minutes

Customer Reviews

"A Soft Soul Touched Something Hot and Melted"
"Rouleman" is a cinematic marvel, a small masterpiece by Greek filmmaker Panos Karkanevatos, and constructed as a film within a film, as a documentary director tries to find the reason a young woman was murdered in a crime of passion. The story is about Loula, who lives in a small industrial town, and dreams of getting out and becoming a singer. When Kosmas comes to town from Athens, and falls in love with her at first sight, she thinks he might be her ticket to the big city. She doesn't realize that Kosmas is a romantic loser, going nowhere, and the web she weaves brings tragedy to all, in a drama that affected me deeply by its realistic depiction of human emotions and needs, and by the exquisite way this story is told. As the director (played by Dimitris Naziris) says, "We went on a journey in search of the truth. What motivates people, what they're hiding in their soul, what throws us down the abyss, what keeps us going."

Those who always imagine Greece as a sun-drenched land with olive trees and blue ocean will be amazed at the dreary, cold and barren landscapes in this film, and yet with the masterful cinematography of Dimitris Stamolis, the vistas are like paintings, and beautiful to look at. As Loula, Anna Sotiroudi is a sensual and exotic beauty, too fiery for her surroundings, and as Kosmas, the man attracted like a moth to that flame, Giorgios Glastras gives a fantastic performance. It also has a score by Gorgios Andreou that is moody and marvelous, and that adds a lot of atmosphere to the film. "Rouleman" is a film that should be seen more than once, to really appreciate the thread of the story. For those who enjoy the slower, more pensive pace of foreign films, this is one not to miss. Total running time is 88 minutes.