Insight At the turn of the century, no not the 21st century, that other one, when Australia was bound to the mother land and served king and country, you didn't have to engage too much of the old brain matter to realize that the British Empire [god bless its wonderful beating heart] was alive and well in the continent of terra [or make that terror] Australis and everything was rosily white and wonderful [except for a bunch of hard done by 'black savages' who ran wild, in the wild]. a half a century or so later, all that would change as Australia became the motherland for a new wave of citizens, all filled with hopes and dreams, fed on a whole heap of bullshit that this was the 'lucky' country, were lured to our shores. They were divided into two groups, 'the whingers' and 'the doers'. The 'doers' introduced us to new and wonderful things from their cultures [well, they did after we stopped calling them 'wogs' or daegoes and after we stopped knocking them at every opportunity] and later on, when they got the hang of what being an 'aussie' was all about, even let their daughters marry a few of those 'aussie bludgers'. Suddenly, those of us who didn't want to stand for God Save The Queen at the local picture theatre and every bloody well else they played it, had an excuse. If the other aussies weren't standing, then we sure as hell weren't bloody standing either. One of the biggest groups to influence our lifestyle was the 'Greeks'. They were a whizz at the 'fish n chips' and in those days of great fear of the Pope and the Catholic Church, the damn Greeks made a fortune every friday night. This was supposedly the day the scriptures had declared Jesus would step foot in any fish shop on the shores of Galilee [he would have on other days if they'd been run by the greeks]. Which brings me back to "Beware of Greeks Bearing Guns", an infectious little film which is a joint production between the two best groups of film makers you could ever put together, the Greeks and the Aussie-Greeks. Fortunately the Greeks know just as much about taking the piss out of themselves as we aussies do about taking it out of ourselves, so, as you would expect, the humour will really appeal to Australian audiences. It was a huge hit in Greece and rocketed to the top of the box office over their. Unfortunately it may not do so well here, mainly because the Greeks have one thing we lack, a bit of bloody 'cultcha" sport. Example. Greeks can eat and talk with their hands at the same time. Crikey, I'd like to see an aussie do that. "Beware of Greeks Bearing Guns" has everything needed to succeed. It's humorous. It's sad. It's filled with colorful characters, many of whom are easily recognized. It has a love story. It was shot in Crete and that home away from home for half the greeks in the world the Greeks, Melbourne Oztrahlya*. And finally, it has a happy ending. That all adds up to what I think is enough good reasons for most people to get along and enjoy it. Stars Lakis Lazopoulos the greek Seinfeld [and Greeces star of stage and television] in the dual roles of twin brothers Manos [the shy reserved one] and George [the crazy lunatic], Zoe Carides, John Bluthal and teen actress Claudia Buttazoni, refreshing as Katrina. "Beware of Greeks Bearing Guns" is directed by John Tatoulis.
*Editors note from the thesorus of Greek stryne: Oztrahlya a large continent inhabited by dole bludgers and beach bums -n pronounced os-trie-leh-yah The Story "A life without revenge is like a night without a moon" In Crete they take their vendetta's very seriously. So seriously that even after 59 years they are still crying for vengence. Well, in "Beware of Greeks Bearing Guns" they are. You see grandmother Maria Poulakis's life has been spent in hatred for one man, the man who killed her husband. That man is Vasilli Philipakis and he's been discovered all these years later living in Melbourne, Australia. Now its up to the eldest child Manos [Lakis Lazopoulos], a mild mannered, shy, school teacher to carry out the vendetta. Philipakis must be killed in order to revenge Maria's husband, restore the families honour and empty the hatred that has consumed the widow for all these years. Thanks to Uncle Stephanos [John Bluthal], Manos has plenty of backup from a group of geriatric old men whose interests are, smoking endless cigars, playing cards, drinking and plotting the the timely death of Vasilli Philipakis. Needless to say, nothing goes entirely to plan and things get further out of hand when the half crazy twin brother turns up univited. It's mayhem and mirth, lies and deceit, love lost and found. Will there be a happy ending to the vendetta? Only the Greeks know the answer to that question! The Verdict "There is certainly a lot of charm, spirit and freedom about "Beware of Greeks Bearing Guns". Like many of our Australian films it has an infectious feel about it, a little of the ratbag, a good dose of humour and best of all it has a wonderfully happy ending. That alone should be enough reason for cinema fans to get along and have another look at our aussie 'roots'. The Greek connection worked for me. A very pleasant surprise package." What The Critics Say

"A likeable, engaging, well crafted film, Beware of Greeks Bearing Guns has an old fashioned feel about it, partly due to its European sensibilities and partly to the age old story revolving around family secrets about love and heartbreak, mysterious affairs and ancient social customs." Andrew L Urban URBANCINEFILE "A more unlikely hit man you'll be hard pressed to meet in Beware of Greeks Bearing Guns, a delightful story of mistaken identity, cultural cringe and belonging. There's nothing to beware here this is a charmer that delights on all fronts." Louise Keller URBANCINEFILE "Apart from the fact that I'm a real sucker for a happy ending, "Beware of Greeks Bearing Guns" isn't half bad. In fact it's pretty damn good. It's not just a film about a vendetta, they even throw in a free tour of Crete and Melbourne, god bless 'em. Go on, get into your local theatre you ocker knockers, or I'll be forced to send me greek brutha George around!! Marty King IMPACTSERVICES.NET.AU

The Cast

	Lakis Lazopoulos Zoe Carides John Bluthal Claudia Buttazoni	... ... ... ...		Manos/George Nicki Uncle Stephanos Katrina

Directed by John Tatoulis Writen by Tom Balbraith Musical arrangments Mikis Theodorakis Director of Photography Peter Zakharov Run Time 82 minutes Rated MA15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2002 - Palace Films - All Rights Reserved Copyright©2002 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved