Apples Movie Review

“Apples” is a foreign-language movie (Greek) that is from a first-time Writer and Director. Many times this can mean you could be in for a treat, a very personal take about a very deep subject. Yet many other times, it could mean that you can watch a meandering effort that offers up a promising premise, but then it sputters out like a wet wick. When you hope for the former, but you actually get the latter — well, it can drive you Bananas!

In a Greek city, there is a strange thing that is happening. People, young and old, are experiencing complete memory loss. There is no indication that this is only happening in this single country or in this single city. It might be a much more wide-spread affliction. One such person is named Aris (played by Aris Servetalis).

He has a normal life, but one day he gets on a bus. When it comes to the the end of the line, the bus driver asks some questions. But Aris cannot answer. He does not have any identification, and he carries no wallet or any pictures or keys. He has become another victim of the disease.

Aris is taken to a hospital. There are many people in the special ward that has been set up for the afflicted. Nobody in there can remember their past or what they did or where they have come from. A doctor says that sometimes the family comes looking for the people in the ward.

But other times, the family members have also become sudden amnesiacs. So, many times – nobody can ‘claim’ the newly afflicted person. A fellow patient in the  ward give Aris an apple, and he does remember that he loves apples. So that was a kind gesture.

There are a couple of people that come in and tell Aris about a new program. It has been put into place so that the afflicted can acquire a “New Identity”. This is about the only route that Aris can take. This new program is lead by two people: Male Program Manager (played by Argyris Bakirtzis) and Female Program Manager (played by Anna Kalaitzidou).

What they will do is set Aris up in a small apartment and give him tasks to do. These will get him out into the world, and — in theory — these activities might jog his memory. Aris get into a small place, and they get him a tape player and a Polaroid camera. Every day a new tape is dropped off, and this has instructions about what type of thing Aris is supposed to do on that day. Aris is good at following these instructions, and soon he has a scrapbook of the pictures he has taken.

He goes out to ride a bike. He goes out to find a costume to wear. He prefers an astronaut suit, by the way. He goes to an ‘adult entertainment’ club to ‘flirt’ with a dancer. Every day, there is a new event, and different task. But also, each day — Aris buys more apples. He just enjoys eating them.

On one of his ‘adventures’ he meets a woman named Anna (played by Sofia Georgovassili). She is also in the “New Identity” program, and each day she is completing the tasks that have been sent to her. She asks Aris to join him on one of her tasks. She is told to find a car, and drive out of town. That goes well, until she hits a tree. They both are forced to walk back into town. They do many other things together. Then she asks him to join her at a small club. They stay until the place is almost closed down.

Aris is starting to think that a romance is beginning to blossom between them. Anna gets really cozy with Aris, and they stay late into the night. Anna asks him to follow her into the bathroom at the club, and they have a quick little intimate moment. Anna is busy the next few days, and Aris does not see her for a while. But then Aris gets a new tape with instructions. The task for that day is to do pretty much what Anna did with him a few nights before. Just find someone in a bar, convince them to stay there late, and then have sex. It does not matter if that person means nothing to you.

Aris now knows that Anna was following the same set of tasks as he had been given. She was just on a schedule that started earlier than his had started. Aris does not know what to think. One day at the grocery store, the clerk comments that Aris loves to buy apples. He had been there every day for quite a while and bought a few every day. The clerk says that apples are healthy for you, plus they are supposed to help with your memory. Aris takes all of the apples and put them back. He takes some oranges instead.

“Apples” is very frustrating to watch. It has an interesting main idea. The fact that multiple having these breaks in their memory is a very different concept. This ‘instant amnesia’ is a fascinating idea that could be explored in many ways. But this movie has that initial idea and does not really expand it at all. There are little hints that it has become more and more wide-spread. That aspect never gets any more development. Instead, you are stuck with a single person’s view of how the “New Identity” program is affecting their life. But it never changes Aris, or brings back any memories – or even gives him any comfort.

The director (Christos Nikou) is also the co-writer, and this is his project from start to finish. This movie was in the running to compete in the 93rd Academy Awards. However, it was not selected to compete. Cate Blanchett was also involved as an executive producer. So Nikou has some financial backing from some heavyweight film industry stars. But all that does not make the movie a block-buster. It is a very decent first effort by a very creative individual. It has a strong starting idea, but it fails to capitalize on those ideas to become a great film.