POLK

Sunset, nightfall. Two men sit in a room, facing each other. They talk about the possibilities of time, space and the consequences of actions. Then, one of them finds himself in a restaurant and discovers that he has been killed. Based on a short film they made in 2013, Nikos Nikolopoulos and Vladimir Nikolouzos take a thoroughly destabilizing approach to telling the story of the mysterious murder of American journalist George Washington Polk in Thessalonica in 1948, during the Greek Civil War. The Greek filmmakers have a completely novel approach to bringing together different realities and the past, present and future, and creating a world where metaphysical discourse is juxtaposed with a labyrinthine plot. The resulting universe — reminiscent of the worlds of David Lynch, a clear influence on the directors — is anxiety-inducing. Even the creepy sound design draws us inside this daring project. Through it all, the victim’s wife, a luminous but grieving figure, reconstructs the facts of the tragedy to help clear up the confusion surrounding an inexplicable slaying. Polk muddies the waters and assaults the senses — all of them — to create a unique, disturbing and thoroughly captivating experience.