To thávma tis thálassas ton Sargassón

Elisabeth is police chief of the Greek coastal town of Mesolongi. When she speaks, it sounds like angry barking. She drinks too much, constantly swears and is sleeping with a married doctor. Her transfer from Athens to this small fishing village ten years ago still rankles with her. Her adolescent son Dimitris is all too familiar with his mother’s moods. If she overdoes it after a shared dinner in a bar, he goes home. Rita comes from Mesolongi and works in a factory; her brother is something of a local celebrity. He sometimes makes her join him on stage during his club appearances. Rita is also deeply dissatisfied. But then a death tears apart the already fragile network of relationships between the villagers, revealing an even more damaged structure beneath. Syllas Tzoumerkas’s third film portrays an extraordinary policewoman in the shape of Elisabeth. His protagonist is bulky, frustrated and ungracious. Angeliki Papoulia’s brilliant performance and the surprisingly shocking plot of Thavma tis thálassas ton Sargassón (The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea) means we are served up a small-town nightmare garnished with eels and several layers of interpretation.