Stelios is a captivating, heartfelt and exhilarating biopic on Greek singer Stelios Kazantzidis (Christos Mastoras). Frank Sinatra once astutely observed that, "If Stelios Kazantzidis had been in the United States, he would have had a bigger career than me." Director Yorgos Tsemberopoulos and screenwriter Katerina Bei tell Stelios' story through flashbacks when a journalist interviews him as he reminisces about his childhood in Pontus, how he rose to fame, and had three lovers, Katy (Klelia Renesi), Marinella (Asimenia Voulioti) and Vaso (Anna Symeoidou). The film gets a little darker and more revealing about the obstacles in Stelios' life as it progresses. Stelios comes across as not only immensely talented a singer, but also humble, intelligent and introspective. Christos Mastoras, who looks like a young Burt Reynolds, exudes palpable charisma as he captures Stelios' warmth and vulnerability with conviction and finds the emotional truth of his role. The same can be said about the rest of the ensemble cast including Agoritsa Oikonomou who plays Stelios' mother.
The picturesque scenery of Greece becomes like a character in itself. Above all, the musical numbers of Stelios singing are among the most powerful moments of the film. Fortunately, director Yorgos Tsemberopoulos moves the pace along at a speed that's not too slow nor too fast. He also avoids schmaltz, melodrama and over-editing, so he lets the performances and Stelios' music carry the film without trying too hard to make it cinematic through the camera-work alone. Stelios has much more emotional depth and warmth than A Complete Unknown, Elvis and Bohemian Rhapsody combined. At a running time of 2 hours and 12 minutes, Stelios is a triumph. It opens at Cinema Village via Firestorm Entertainment.
Number of times I checked my watch: 1
