The Taverna

Director: Alkinos Tsilimidos
Starring: Vangelis Mourikis, Rachel Kamath, Senol Mat, Emily O' Brien- Brown, Emmanuela Costaras, Tottie Goldsmith, Salman Arif, Peter Paltos, Maria Mercedes, Christian Charisiou
Distributor: Other
Runtime: 86 mins. Reviewed in Jun 2020

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Rating notes: Strong coarse language

A night at the Tavern. The Greek Taverna. And, where is the Taverna? In Melbourne, which has one of the largest Greek populations in the world. But, this is Melbourne and not everyone that works at the taverna is Greek. There is a Turk. There are two with Indian backgrounds. And there are some Melbourne locals. The touch of cosmopolitan Melbourne.

On the whole, this is a very cheerful film though most of the characters are not without their problems. Rather, it is a couple of the customers who are not pleasant.

We arrive with the owner, Kostas (veteran Greek actor, Vangelis Mourikis). He opens up the kitchen to begin the night proceedings. And, 80 minutes or so later, we close up with him, quite the wiser and a little more sympathetic about the human problems that need solving.

Kostas is a good man, a kind man. He has a loving wife, Helen (Maria Mercedes). They are both concerned about their ice-addict architect son, indulging him in cash, prepared to take blame for his selfish and careless behaviour. On the staff is Katarina, in love with the son, but very clearheaded about how his situation should be dealt with, especially by his parents. There is a young in worker in the kitchen who does have problems with his work visa. Sally, Emily O’Brien- Brown, one of the producers of the film) is earnest, the touch of the perfectionist, but completely devoted to her lazy partner – and Katarina has some good advice for her as well.

The chef is an old Turk, who lost his wife and family long since and is still grieving. He is a good friend to everyone. But, on this particular night, it is belly dancer night. Jamila is the dancer – and does charm all the patrons, many turning up because it is belly dancer night. And, if the other members of staff have problems, Jamila much more so – alienate it from her womanising husband, a restraining order against her and his new girlfriend (both of whom turn up at the restaurant), custody issues about the young daughter.

In a way, these are the ingredients of soap opera. But, the characters are engaging and draw our emotional response. There is humour, a touch of good-willed violence, in Sally getting the opportunity to do a belly dance, some thuggish customers who claim to be restaurant judges, even a visit from the police.

While there is coarse language, not as much in so many other films, the Taverna has been given an MA certificate because of the language.

The writer-director is Alkinos Tsilimidos who, unfortunately, has not made many films – the prison drama Every Night, Every Night, was his earliest film and he directed a finely observed film about city life, Tom White (2004) with Colin Friels.

So, a night out at the Greek Taverna.

Peter Malone MSC is an Associate of the Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting.