SXSW London: ‘The Boy With The Light-Blue Eyes,’ Startling Queer Tale Of Fear And Superstition

Thanasis Neofotistos’s startling feature debut, The Boy With the Light-Blue Eyes, is a beguiling horror folktale about a teen boy born with light-blue eyes, trying to navigate life in a severely superstitious Greek town where his eye color is seen as the worst kind of curse.

Petros (Giorgos Karydis) is under the impression that he must wear a goggled mask because he suffers from a life-threatening eye affliction. The boy goes around town afraid to take the protectors off, for fear of going blind. Petros’s controlling grandmother, Margarita (Sofia Filippidou) is the town matriarch and rules over Petros and her daughter, Lemonia (Syrmo Keke), with an iron fist, keeping a stern and watchful eye on the boy.

And although Petros has been indoctrinated into the insane beliefs of the town, he also occasionally rebels and goes off with fellow teen Aemon (Pablo Soto). One day Aemon talks Petros into going to the local swamp with him, to try and escape the suffocating village via a boat Aemon discovers. Things don’t go to plan, and a tragedy occurs which finds poor Petros stuck wearing a bolted-tight, oppressive mask. He and Aemon decide to finally get out of their looney bin of a town. And Petros discovers the truth about his eyes.

The film opens with a harrowing scene as the unhinged villagers try to throw the boy off a cliff. Someone steps in to help and then, we flashback. Later in the narrative we return to the angry mob scene, which culminates in an absolutely horrifying climax.

Karydis is astonishingly good in his debut feature. Forced to spend most of the film acting with his peepers covered, what he achieves through his body movement alone is mesmerizing. And when we finally see his eyes, we are transfixed.

Filippidou’s willful and manipulative Margarita would give Piper Laurie’s zealot mother in Carrie a run for her frenzied, lunatic money.

Neofotistos shoots the film in standard early-cinema (near-square) aspect ratio but widens the screen in key moments. It’s quite effective as is Djordje Arambasic’s deliberately erratic camerawork, giving us the sense of what Petros’s stunted vision must be like for him. In addition, Igor Vasilev Novogradska’s pulsating score and the disquieting sound design all contribute to the film’s intense and ominous feel.

The Boy With the Light-Blue Eyes works as a spooky horror movie, a morality tale thriller and/or an allegory about young queer love amidst the backdrop of an unaccepting, uber conservative community who would rather buy into irrevocable hexes and curses than face reality. The tender scenes between the boys are as sensitively filmed as the extreme scenes of violence are harshly captured.

Written by Neofotistos and Grigoris Skarakis, the film depicts the consequences of fear, ignorance and blame in an unsettling, stress inducing, emotionally draining manner. Prepare to be provoked.

My one issue with the work is that even after two viewings I remain conflicted about the ending. I wanted something more in keeping with the tone of this bold, brutal, dark, yet mildly mythical tale.

Still, I applaud the film’s audacity and singular style. And I strongly urge the Greek Oscar submission committee, under the leadership of the Greek Ministry of Culture, to consider this film for entry.