The Other Me (2016) User Reviews

An interesting character in an interesting story told through some good direction

[sosmetallin · 7/10 · 12 February 2017]

Eteros Ego is the story of Dimitris Lainis, a criminologist who is asked to help the police with the case of a serial killer who leaves behind quotes of Pythagoras. Rarely do we see a Greek movie like this one, but I won't go too soft on it just because of this fact. So, is Eteros Ego really worth your time?

Let's begin with the pros. Before watching, I was expecting a completely story-driven movie. However, I was happy to realize that the movie is not just about an intriguing criminal case and how it was solved, but also about how it affects our protagonist combined with some personal problems. In fact, it's more about the second one. And that wouldn't work unless Dimitris' character was so well- fleshed out. That's thanks to Pigmalion Dadakaridis's performance and careful direction which explains his character through visual details. What also kept me engaged was the sense of danger. It was clear that the killer was intelligent and careful, but the direction offered us some really intense scenes. The cinematography was also pretty good. Just by a few specific takes you can tell that a considerable amount of effort was put. I said I don't want to go too soft on it just because it's a Greek crime movie but I can't help being amazed by the Hollywood- level make-up. Major props to the make-up team! However, the movie has also a few weaknesses. The first complaint I have is related to the characters. While all the performances are generally OK or good, the problem comes from the script. At some points dialogue sounds unnatural, but, at least, it doesn't happen too much. My main problem is about the police lieutenant, who is clearly there just to ask the questions we the audience need to know. Apart from that he is kind of useless and the least interesting character. Finally, I found the ending somewhat forced. At first I was really surprised, but then I found myself not being so emotionally invested as I was hoping to.

Final verdict: Eteros Ego is actually worth your time. Even if you like the ending or not, Dimitris is an interesting character in an interesting story told through some good direction.

A fine addition to detective genre films with a Greek twist

[barbaralekatsas · 8/10 · 15 October 2017]

I liked the above review and want to add to it. I Just saw the film last night at the annual Greek Film Festival in New York City. I was wondering if the screenplay was based on a story written by someone else or if the director who wrote the screenplay was also the writer of the original story. Pygmalion Dadakaridis as Professor Dimitris Lainas gives a fine consistent performance as a detective on the side, in the manner of Father Brown, Grantchester (also a minister) or Dr. Blake (a medical doctor), he has the quirkiness of Poirot and Sherlock Holmes in his recoiling from physical human contact: in fact, I could see Professor Lainas as the vehicle for a weekly television series. I agree with the previous review that his own story and transformation is the more interesting part of the film but it is often the case with the detective genre.

The who-done-it is not difficult to figure out at the beginning of the film. The opening shot of the Pythagorian medallions give us the clue, as does the second flashback scene of the night that one of the victims (who we first saw as a child accepting the medallion from her grandfather with the dictum that it should be given to the person she loves most)is briefly seen in the bathroom mirror with her best friend on her birthday at a club, before the fatal accident, where she is killed and her fiancé maimed in a hit and run accident. If you are observant, you can see the two women wearing the matching pendants. Still the second flashback comes late in the film and you are kept guessing who this intellectual murderer leaving Pythagorian maxims for clues might be.

It takes too long to link the initial flashback of the earlier birthday party to the second flashback of the final birthday. We have to experience several graphically-depicted murders before we get the second flashback scene.

I guess this type of suspense (slowly-meted out information) has been around since Oedipus, but Sophocles has a perfect sense of pacing in the way he times his disclosures. The plot, however, is Sophoclean in its own right as the central character questions the limits of the law as a dispenser of justice. The Pythagorian quotes are among the best thing in the film. They are marvelous in their own right as meditations on justice and very creative. The key clue of Pythagoras' filial numbers as symbolic of friendship itself is ingenious. I agree that the actual detective on the case does nothing, but that is also a convention of detective dramas, think of Holmes and Lastrade.

Also. we are never told what happened to Professor Lainas' father, who is on life support throughout the film and who he finally allows to be taken off life support at the end of the film. It is hinted that there is a parallel to the other senseless hit and run accident, where justice was actually foiled by the law. There are Sherlock Holmes stories, where Holmes allows victim perpetrators to get away, as does Lainas in this case.

The story could have been improved by providing a bit more history of the murderer's relationship to her friend prior to the accident and certainly more concerning Lainas' attachment to his father, just enough to enable us to understand what drives the characters.

I thought the film got better as it went along and the questions raised by the Pythagorian maxims written by the criminal at the scene of the crimes became key questions for Detective Lainas concerning the problem of justice and the problem of a just universe. So on the whole, I thought it was a creative new addition to the detective genre, of which I am a fan.

Don't miss it

[nevilakat · 9/10 · 16 September 2018]

I don't review movies ever but I have to. This is one of the best movies I have seen this year. And don't mean only the Greek cinema. If you like a good psychological thriller with a good and surprisingly a story without plot holes you should watch this. The cinematography is beautiful. The story excellent. The lead actor gives a great performance. Don't miss this one.

Do not pass or you will miss a rare film

[folon2008-100-319305 · 9/10 · 18 February 2018]

A very emotional and rewarding film for those who manage to overcome a number of (rather needlessly included) graphic sequences. Stunning prelude, constant pace, top theater-quality acting of the main protagonists, interesting info of academic nature and an intriguing plot that acts as a showcase for human attitudes against issues such as coping with tragedy and death loss, the origin and act of god, the nature of friendship, duty, justice, love, social responsibility and others. I believe that this is were the main quality of the film lays in the sense that it calls for your answers to the above dilemmas unfolding before your eyes.

By watching this movie, not only will you not have wasted your time but rather, I dare say, you will have invested it well. You will have experienced "psychagogia" a term that, in Greek, means to lead ones soul (mind if you prefer) through paths that elevate its quality.

One of the best Greek Movies ever!!!

[lerikosa · 10/10 · 9 January 2018]

Title tells everything. One of the best Greek movies ever made, a great psychological thriller, with a fantastic performance from Pigmalion Dadakaridis, a young Greek actor that is Oscar worthy!!! Dont miss it!! Especially if you like movies with serial killers, this movie is for you. But it is so much more than hunting a serial killer, powerful emotions from start to the great ending!! A masterpiece!!!

Very good story!

[dtsagkar · 9/10 · 23 April 2018]

Very interesting scenario combined with solid filming!

Greek cinema is still alive !!

[panoscharalabidhs · 10/10 · 19 August 2018]

One of the best greek movies !! Nice character development and good twist plot at the end. I really loved how the srcreenwriter relate the murders with the theory of Pythagoras. You should watch this movie !!

Proud for the overall result

[dafni_d · 7/10 · 3 March 2020]

Great effort for a greek production. Good story , clever , good actors . Could be quicker in plot and not so obvious who was the killer .

Suspense, Thriller, Crime, Horror, Drama... All-in-One Genres Movie

[aa5if · 8/10 · 25 April 2020]

This movie is just amazing. This movie is combination of all genres. There are scenes which you make you melt in sadness, couple of scenes with slight horror flick, suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat, murder crimes. And with all of that dialogues that not only increase interest in movie but also act as inspiration. 5 murders, 1 number, 1 incident connecting them all and 1 University professor fighting with his own battles to solve the case. Don't miss this gem.

At last, there is no reason why...

[gibsonslashv · 7/10 · 19 February 2020]

When I first saw this movie, thought of it as a gem and something really pioneering for greek cinema that it really is!

After watching it for a second time, in the end, there is no reason why for the murder to leave all these messages! All the murders are based in revenge and the murderer doesn't want to be caught. So, we are not talking about a lunatic. And since following the trails the police could find out how all the victims were connected there is no reason for the killer to leave all these riddle-messages behind except for her narcissistic character ( or the writer's )! The messages don't help at all since we are not talking about an insane serial killer! And if the murderer wanted the police to solve the riddles to find the next victim, she wouldn't for example put on a fire in order the last victim to be found!

Apart from these, it is an excellent film that you can really enjoy!

Great movie

[nictrianta · 9/10 · 16 June 2019]

Regardless of the fact that is a Greek production is very good. Good scenario photography and direction and last but not least acting by Pygmalion and Mr kataloifos.i would expect and and the series to be as good however it was not as the same level

Nice film for a Greek film in a genre populated by excellent work.

[peripatitis-33392 · 7/10 · 18 June 2019]

The movie had an interesting story, an excellent performance by the Dadakaridis, and everything else was a bit pedestrian. Nevertheless it is probably the best Greek film or series in that Genre so i'd say overall it was a very good effort.

Some things could have been better, most importantly imo the beggining and the end of the film. They feel completely wrong and rather misleading for what the film turns out to be. Especially with the ending I have no idea what they were thinking. SPOILERS: you have the main role pulling his father's plug, deciding between his job and his duty as paralleled with the murderer and instead you go with a flashback of two people we couldn't care less for an ending? Why?? It just felt completely wrong.

Anyway, let's hope there is more and better to come. Dadakaridis as Lainis, has enough juice for more films imo.

p.s what was the point of the friend or the car for that matter? None offered anything but confusion.

Pretentious without a cause

[PalVa · 5/10 · 8 May 2020]

First of all, I'd like to congratulate the creators of this film on daring to make a murder mystery drama in a country where this particular genre is practically non-existent. I, for one, think that it has great visual style and mood. It is very hopeful to see commercial Greek cinema bidding farewell to the shallow aesthetics of the 90's and early 2000's and setting higher quality standards. These things, however, are not enough to distract our attention from some of the film's problems.

First of all, the film is somehow uneven in the way it constructs its characters. Apart from professor Lainis, played quite aptly by P. Dadakaridis, all the other characters come across as cliched and largely static.

Another problem is the overly pretentious dialogue. I realize that the film wants to be something more than a usual detective drama and tries to philosophize about the concept of crime and punishment, but I don't think that this was the most effective way to do it. People never talk so pompously in their daily conversations, unless the film wants us to think that everyone in Athens is a philosopher and has always something profound to say, even if it's about getting a couple of beers. The scenes where the professor converses with his mentor are, in this respect, the most ridiculous to watch, as the lines the actors exchange are no better than fortune cookie quotes. There are also parts where the writing could have been more daring, like the scene where the professor meets the disfigured boyfriend or the graveyard scene, where the big reveal takes place.

This brings us to the film's plot. I must confess that for its most part the film is very good at building up tension and suspense. When I first watched it, I was quite impressed by the way the story developed and I was so intrigued by it that I could overlook the static characters and the pompous lines. However, everything fell apart, when the graveyard scene came along and the killer's identity was revealed. I was extremely disappointed. Is this really what the Pythagorean quotes and numbers were in aid of? I couldn't help feeling a little cheated. For about 90 minutes the film was giving us to understand that something mind-blowing was going to take place. It even brought a French mathematician to increase our appetite for it. But, sadly, all five complicits are murdered before Lainis can intervene (thus rendering the Pythagorean clues useless and killing whatever tension the film has until that point) and, as if this wasn't off-putting enough, we see the professor and the killer exchange one platitude after another about God! I know that the purpose of this scene is to make a comment on self-administered justice (and present it in a rather artsy way), but in this case I think that the creators could have made their point without having to sacrifice a good plot.

All things considered, "Eteros Ego" sets high expectations visually, but fails to deliver the goods, in terms of action and dialogue. The fact that it's a long-awaited addition to the Greek crime genre with good graphics, should not blind us to its obvious shortcomings.

It's not Greek to me...

[sblatsios · 9/10 · 18 February 2020]

An unexpected movie. Nice production, great script, good acting.

Must watch Greek film.

[danaekonstantinou · 8/10 · 13 April 2020]

One of the best Greek films ever made. A solid psychological thriller with intriguing character development mixed with math and Pythagorean theories. Great acting, interesting scenario combined with worth seeing photography and a solid filming. A film dealing with issues like justice, love, friendship, society duties, handling loss and the way the human being raises up to them. A surpsisingly good artistic aproach and generally a great effort coming from a thorough greek production. Definitely a must-watch film.

A great Film

[yhwahuiaend · 10/10 · 23 October 2018]

The best Greek movie and also a great Film !

The plot , the characters everything was just percent .

Brilliant!

[christosyr · 10/10 · 11 June 2020]

The best crime movie I ever seen from Greek director! Is worth watch it! Can't wait watch the series! Worth to watch it and hope Netflix take it as worth it go globally! This film should go to oscars!

Seven meets Da Vinci code in Greek fashion

[silkotsimeth · 6/10 · 21 November 2018]

A solid psychological thriller with good character crafting and intriguing storytelling. The storyline involves a forgotten incident and a serial killer, bringing also some math to he table. The main character, a shy, meticulous and thorough criminologist assisting the police in a series of murders, is portrayed masterfully by the low-key but intense acting of Pigmalion Dadakaridis. The Pythagorian numbers and math are very well explained in the succession of the story, which is particularly engaging. Technically and musically sound, the film's weakest moments come in the form of some "wooden" language used by the script and some clichés but which, in no way, define the final result. If you are looking for a gripping story and a solid cinematography, you'll enjoy watching this film.

A masterpiece

[eleni-viglaki · 10/10 · 21 February 2020]

And I thought I was the only one with a number (lne) as a signature! Enjoyed every minute of it. It is a really smart movie marrying our very own Pithagoras with a series of murders in mordern Greece, great acting, great scenario and photography, beautiful plot and music (I think in some point we enjoyed some magnificent Debussy- Clair de Lune, not sure though). All in all it was a great artistic approach with a sense of mathematical elegance combined with CSI Miami, Tarantino and X Files. Keep up the excellent work, people!

Silent Film

[koniotis-95595 · 6/10 · 2 May 2020]

If the movie length was 30 minutes it was going to get my 9 starts. Many silent scenes without any point. Just to feel the gaps and make the movie longer.

A decent effort

[hellenicadrasteia · 8/10 · 13 September 2020]

What disappointed me most is that nobody picked up on the GLARING similarities with the TV show "Hannibal" which proves that Greeks do not watch quality american television. The film borrowed heavily from Brian Fuller's Hannibal, from the kind of autistic criminology professor to the staged crime scenes. The script needed some polishing, some scenes were slow and repeated information, although they might have just tried to adapt to the greek audience, that has had less exposure to this kind of stories. It was a decent effort, not as good as american productions obviously, but far better and interesting than most other greek works. Dadakaridis will always be a favourite of mine, and although this film wasn't his top moment on screen, I am glad he is in it. We need more greek productions that dare to explore darker and more sinister territories, with intertwined elements of sophistication and gore.

Great movie...

[nionios95 · 7/10 · 24 July 2019]

Really great job from Sotiris....Amazing performance from Dadakaridis...One of the best greek movies.

Ignore the Greeks who praise this film. It is a bad effort.

[Greek_77 · 4/10 · 10 September 2022]

I am Greek. And if i know one thing, it is this. My beloved people love to overreact when they see anything Greek. If it's Greek, it is great. Period.

I disagree. For me, Greek cinema in general, was always mediocre. Most movies of the 60's were either easy going family comedies, usually copycats of foreign movies, or unbearable melodramatic stories full of women crying.

The 70's and 80's were even worse. Some Greek directors managed to escape. Koundouros or Damianos for example, seemed to have a kind of a personal vision about their films. And of course Theo Angelopoulos is praised universally by a lot of cinema lovers. But the vast majority of Greek films, is simply bad or mediocre efforts. And a large number of those films, are blatant copycats of foreign ideas. Even though in most other countries, cinema fans praise the directors of the past and call the modern era films, films of lesser quality, I do the exact opposite with Greece. I think that Greek cinema from 2000 and on, is more interesting than the old films. I leave out a small number of movies.

The other me/Eteros ego, is praised by many Greek fans as a fantastic thriller, fresh, chilling, mysterious blah, blah, blah..In my opinion, any person who has watched more than 5 mystery/thriller films from USA or France, will find this film unbearable to watch. The scenario is about a killer who leaves fragments of clues. Those clues have to do something with numbers and Pythagoras. So the police, just like in so many other foreign movies, ask for external help. From a professor. And i read reviews here that this scenario is unique..Go figure.

Unfortunately, the scenario not being original, is the least of the problems. Nothing is good in this film. The scenery is boring and not interesting. The main actor plays his role without showing any emotion. He looks and acts like a person born without the ability to express himself. Two of the supporting actors, Katalifos and Vakousis, are great actors. But their solid performance is not enough to save this film. The soundtrack is completely lifeless and it provides nothing extra to the already weak atmosphere of the movie.

If you are a Greek who has never seen a thriller about good people trying to solve a mystery and catch a killer, then go ahead and watch it.

But if you are someone who has seen thrillers before, this film will bore you to death.

Surprisal amazing!

[r-fronimides · 8/10 · 19 December 2020]

I'm Greek and of course I know a lot what about my country can do/produce, talking about a film or a TV serial show. The Greek productions are "ok"; many are bad and very rarely you'll find some amazing "gems". This film, is one of those "gems".

The film is a psychological thriller. The production is not so expensive, you won't see a "Hollywood-like"; it seems more like a cinema students bachelor's study/work. But probably this is the beauty of the film, to FOCUS on the VERY BEST it has:

The SCENARIO! The STORY itself!

The story is pretty amazing. And the most beautiful of it is, the writer used a lot different element to tailor the story: philosophy, History, ancient Greek culture, etc. The story is a very very blend combination of these elements, so perfectly attached each other, that you simply can't stop at the end of each scene and you want to learn more and more about the plot. The plot, the story, is the really STAR of this film. Of course, we have a large cast of the modern best Greek acting actors in our days, which they're playing all marvelous. All roles are perfectly given to the best choice the director could have.

Trust me on this, you gonna love this film. VERY recommended!

The best Greek movie

[jmspitbull · 9/10 · 26 January 2018]

The best Greek movie The best Greek movie The best Greek movie ever