Vardia
Gregoris Rentis
Greece, France | 2022 | 78 min
World premiere
Languages : English, Greek
Subtitles : French, English
For a long time, vessels crossing the High Risk Area on the Somali coastline would hire private mercenaries in order to protect themselves from pirates. Nowadays, the attacks have dropped off and the mercenaries encounter a new problem: the lack of action. Daily training to face a non-existent enemy creates a sense of absurdity, captured by Gregoris Rentisʼ camera with great inspiration and precision.
For a long time, cargo ships crossing the High Risk Area of the Somali coastline would hire private mercenaries in order to protect themselves from pirates. Faced with a decline in attacks, the mercenaries now have to deal with an unforeseen problem: the lack of action. In his first feature film, Greek director Gregoris Rentis (who boasts remarkable previous experience, having worked for example as an editor for the renowned American filmmaker Monte Hellman) depicts the daily life on the ship for these tough yet lonely men, who train and prepare themselves for combat that will never happen. The enemy is nothing more than tales from the past, while the ship continues its course through calm waters, with its cargo uselessly guarded. Perhaps, for some of them, the time has come to think about a desk job, a family or a less unusual life. With an impressive level of access, Rentis' sharp and profound gaze succeeds in capturing the somewhat absurd universe of these men of war, who end up not only wondering how to occupy these long uneventful stretches of time, but also questioning their jobs and their life paths.
Violeta Bava
Sundown, 2010