Alps

A surrealistic story told in an incongruously realistic style, Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos's Alps involves an intense quartet—a paramedic (Aris Servetalis), a nurse (Aggeliki Papoulia), a gymnast (Ariane Labed), and her coach (Johnny Vekris)—who perform an unusual service for the recently bereaved. They pretend to be the departed, having memorized facts and bits of remembered dialogue that they recite in short scenes, which they perform along with the mourners. A crisis occurs in this oddball outfit (all are nicknamed after peaks in the Alps) when the nurse becomes so obsessed with taking over the life of a severely injured tennis player that she lies to her colleagues, telling them that the girl has died and insisting on impersonating her despite the fact that she's still alive. She also finds the relationship with her own father deteriorating (unless, of course, the scenes between them are actually encounters with just another client). From a literal standpoint the premise of Alps is preposterous, but Lanthimos uses it simply to raise questions about life and death, reality and illusion—although the answers, of course, remain ambiguous at the close. Intriguing if not altogether satisfying, this is a strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek) [Blu-ray Review—Sept. 10, 2019—Kino Lorber, 94 min., in Greek w/English subtitles, not rated, Blu-ray: $34.95—Making its debut on Blu-ray, 2011’s Alps features a fine transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack on Blu-ray. Extras include audio commentary by film historian Amy Simmons. Bottom line: this earlier film from the director of the Oscar-nominated The Favorite makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.]