From the Edge of the City

Starring:Vasias Eleftheriadis, Kostas Gogos, Nikos Kamontos, Anestis Konstantinidis, Giannis Kontraphouris, Giannis Kotsiphas, Tamila Koulieva-Karantinaki, Grigoris Mavidis, Giannis Mavridis, Giorgos Mavridis, Viktoria Michalidiou, Giorgos Pasalidis, Orpheas Prasodas, Paulina Santalova, Theodora Tzimou, Anastasios Vasiliou, Silvia Venizelea, Panagiota Vlachosotirou, Argyris Xafis
Studio: Picture This
Product Type: DVD

Description

Buff and barely eighteen, Sasha lives outside Athens. At night, he and his friends go to the city to work as male prostitutes. Everyday they endure johns, drug dealers and pimps as they desperately try to survive in a country that is not their own.

Customer Reviews:

Greek Angst.......2007-07-02

"From the Edge of the City"

Greek Angst

Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride

Submitted as Greece's candidate for the Academy Award for foreign film is "From the Edge of the City". It is a film of many layers that appeals to all levels of society. Greece has been known to be homophobic and for Greek viewers this appeared to be a very angry film. Dealing with rent boys, it is easy to see why it has been so controversial especially in the depiction of Russian Greek immigrants. Because they so want to get ahead in society, they are led t a life of crime which includes male prostitution. Together with that are many homoerotic overtones and open discussion of the characters' lives as gay prostitutes
This film is classy especially the way it handles urban disorientation. There is a lot of flesh shown as well as cocaine use and inchoate homosexual activity. It makes you think and s complex but brilliant.
The movie is about those Russian Greeks who returned to Greece after the collapse of the Soviet Union. They are third generation young people trying to find a place in the society of their adopted country. Their lives are explained to us through an interview with one of the youth named Sasha and e tells us how they use drugs and sell their bodies as well as their relationships with their families. Seemingly, it is a Greek documentary about a modern Greek tragedy--in reality it is a hard and brutally honest film.
The cast is made up of mainly street urchins and this satisfies. The cycle of their lives repeats itself over and over. Just because it is set in Athens does not mean that the same thing could not happen anywhere. The poor suburban home setting is perfect and the cast delivers. Some scenes will hit you straight on so this is not a movie for the weak.
When the Soviet Union existed, Greek Khazahkstanis fled to Athens where they attempted to assimilate into the society. Like most immigrants they faced problems and had difficulties. The youth had the hardest time and this is why they turned to drugs and prostitution. They wanted a good life without working to achieve it.
Sasha, the narrator of the film calls himself Rosa Ponds when he is interviewed. He is a handsome youngster but harbors many conflicts.
He and his friends begin committing petty crimes and then move to drugs and hustling. The numerous subplots give the film a sense of wandering and with a little stronger direction this could certainly have been a tighter film. The boys eventually become involved as both victims and perpetrators of abusive behavior but Sasha gives us hope (with his strong behavior that all will turn out well.
The film has a true sense of verismo because the cast is made up of actual street boys. But the boys are eye candy so that makes it an interesting movie to watch. It is self-consciously hip movie about a wasted generation that goes through the usual downward spiral ofsex, drugs and petty crimes.

Very Gritty Portrayal of Young Hustlers, Story Had an Ackward Flow.......2006-10-13

For starters, I just did not get inspired by this film. I didn't like it. I tried to find good in it so I could give it (at least) 3 stars, but no luck. I never connected with any of the characters, not even the lead Sasha. The best part of this production is the Trailer, which led me (and others I am sure) to purchase this film.

The story is referred to as a Greek Version of "My Own Private Idaho", and that is probably correct, though it has been at least 10 years since I viewed "My Own Private Idaho". I recall that one was also ackward, but I also recollect connecting with at least one of the film's characters.

"From the Edge of the City" follows the lives of (mostly) male hustler's. The storyline seems to be all over the place. I did not find myself gripped to the screen - ok, with the possible exception of watching the very hot lead Sasha!

If you are looking for the gay angle in this story (I was, after all, it was released by PictureThis! Home Video) and featured as a trailer on most of their gay releases, it will take you nearly an hour into the film before the topic is dealt with at any level, minus a few sentences here and there. At the point where the film could develop the story of one hustler's emotional connection with a gay man who pays for his services, it fails to do so with any real effort, and even so, there is little time left in the film.

I by no means expected a "Brady Bunch" storyline or a happy ending; I expected neither, and they are not here. After the film, I watched the trailer again, and felt it really did a misleading job of promoting this movie, or maybe the film simply isn't that good?

A few hot scenes, some quality, but overall, far less then I expected. FYI - The film is in Greek and Kazak with English subtitles.

Irredeemable trash........2006-04-28

In both American and European cinema, male prostitutes and drug dealers seem to have become fashion icons. A class of people who were once considered the lowest of the low are now popular subjects for 'edgy', 'gritty' filmaking that tries to capture the pain and misery of such lives.

This film is one such effort, and it is an exceptionally feeble one. Coming from Greek filmaker Constantine Giannaris and set in Athens, it tells of the sordid lives of a group of Russian-Greek immigrants who deal drugs, visit prostitutes and sell their own bodies to older men (whilst maintaining arguable heterosexual status). The film proceeds to tell its meandering and unispired story in the style of a music video or fashion commercial, with a self-consciously trendy soundtrack in the background. The cast is universally appalling, probably due to the fact that they are non-professionals recruited from the very environment the film seeks to document.

I suspect that Giannaris never expected this film to be released internationally. As a result he felt able to indulge in obvious unoriginality. Watch out for a tableau sex scene and fake interviews with the main character, both of which are blatantly lifted from 'My Own Private Idaho'. But whereas Gus Van Sant's film had a sympathetic main character, this film has as its protagonist a stupid, sexist, homophobic loser who it is impossible to like let alone care about. The audience will probably feel a good measure of self-righteous pleasure at his various misfortunes!

Of course, this sort of film always attracts good reviews from the enlightened ones who sadly mistake its depraved voyeurism for art, but don't be fooled. There is nothing compelling, artistic or remotely likeable about this film. I would advise you to avoid it at all costs.

I loathed this film........2006-03-17

This film is an utter waste of time and effort. The subject matter was handled much better in 'My Own Private Idaho', 'Trainspotting' and 'Midnight Cowboy'. There is nothing remotely likeable about any of the characters, so one has no reason to care about them.
I myself am Greek and I assure you Athens is nothing like this, it is a modern, welcoming, pleasant city and this film does our country a grave diservice.
Please do not see it.

'My name is Rosa Ponds'.......2005-12-16

...a repeated comment from one of the interviewees in this strange little film from Greek writer/director Constantine Giannaris. Struggling somewhere between a docudrama and a ethnic drama, FROM THE EDGE OF THE CITY is written and filmed with gritty realism techniques that in the end adds some charm to an otherwise meandering movie.

During the Soviet Union era Greek Khazahkstani expatriates fled to Athens, Greece where they attempt to fit in to the Greek culture and society. But as with most immigrant groups there are challenges to face in trying to find their niche on the outskirts of a major city. The little town where they live is called Menidi and while the adults have learned Greek and found jobs, a group of teenagers who speak a mixture of Russian and Greek want the good things of life found in Athens yet waste away their own lives on roller-blading, petty crimes, cruising, drugs, male prostitution, and sexual and criminal exploitation by the wealthy Greeks: they want the good life without working for it.

The focal person of the film is Sasha (Stathis Papadopoulos) - the one who refers to himself as Rosa Ponds in interview. As with the rest of the cast he is a beautiful young man with many conflicts who seems to be seeking his identity. He and his friends move from drugs to petty crime to criminal involvement with prostitution (of both gay and straight forms). There are many subplots that could use more definition as the film tends to meander about the streets without direction. The boys become involved as both victims and perpetrators of abusive behavior, yet there is something in the nature of Sasha that makes us hope his life will even out.

Giannaris worked with street kids with no prior acting experience, a fact the gives a true sense of verismo to the film. Both the men and women involved are eye candy and while this film is being marketed as a gay movie, there is very little content to rank it as such - as though the Greek homophobia would not condone a popular movie to dwell on that subject.

Nice eye candy for everyone, but not a lot of substance. Keep your expectations low and the movie will satisfy as a study of the problems of immigrants on the periphery of big cities around the world. Grady Harp, December 05

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