27/02/2023 - BERLINALE 2023: Greek director Vasilis Katsoupis pairs Willem Dafoe with “Macarena”, locks the door and throws away the key

Willem Dafoe in Inside

An experienced art thief called Nemo breaks into a luxurious apartment in the city. He knows what he is doing and what he is after – works by Egon Schiele – but sometimes, things just go wrong. When the “smart” home goes crazy on him, Nemo is trapped inside. His accomplices can’t hear him or do not care any more, and the temperature is rising. Fast.

There is a good film hiding somewhere in Inside [+see also:
trailer
interview: Vasilis Katsoupis
film profile], shown in the Berlinale’s Panorama a couple of days ago – a good short film, as there is just not enough drama to keep things going. Willem Dafoe (playing Nemo) is a skilled actor, which no one could ever deny, but even he can only eat ice cubes and mouldy snacks for so long.

Still, Greek director Vasilis Katsoupis, making his feature debut, delivers exactly what he promises – another example of Dafoe slowly losing his mind in complete isolation. While not quite as wild as The Lighthouse (nothing is), his film is still amusing, as there is a whole subplot involving the 1990s hit “Macarena”. And then things predictably go loco.

Tales of people being stuck somewhere, refusing to believe the predicament they’re in for as long as they can, can be very engaging. In 4x4 [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], a petty criminal couldn’t get out of the car he broke into and vandalised. In Buried [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rodrigo Cortés
film profile], Ryan Reynolds woke up inside a coffin. But Inside is less successful, or at least less unnerving, because of a simple reason: here, the man can actually stretch.

Surrounded by wealth, Nemo goes through multiple stages: first, he enjoys the view and the pretty apartment, then ruins it, then turns to creation himself. Also, he is trapped among people he can actually see, on security cameras – guards and cleaning crews striving to keep the building pristine yet oblivious to what’s going on inside one of these prized properties. At one point, he is almost living through them, obsessing over one woman. It’s his very own reality show, and he can commit to it fully. It’s not like he’s going anywhere.

Not much is said about the flat’s actual owner, although a massive “Z” in one of his rooms seems rather suspicious during the ongoing war on Ukraine. He loves art, or at least he collects it, and now another man is going crazy in front of these works. “Cats die, music fades, but art is for keeps,” observes Nemo, recalling his past – or his current “Macarena” problem – but clearly, art can’t keep you company or even keep you alive. It remains beautiful and unbothered, however, while everything else turns to literal shit, courtesy of Nemo’s insistence on living. There is something satisfying in knowing that.

Inside is a Greek-German-Belgian co-production staged by Heretic, Schiwago Film and A Private View. Bankside Films manages its international sales.

Photogallery 20/02/2023: Berlinale 2023 - Inside

10 pictures available. Swipe left or right to see them all.

{0} of {1}

Vasilis Katsoupis, Giorgos Karnavas, Eliza Stuyck, Leonardo Bigazzi, Willem Dafoe, Marcos Kantis, Gene Bervoets
© 2023 Fabrizio de Gennaro for Cineuropa - fadege.it, @fadege.it