2023 HOLLYSHORTS FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW!
When a flight attendant, Vanina (Lena Papaligoura) steps foot on a plane for a seemingly routine trip, a series of inconveniences find their way to her. AirHostess-737 is Vanina’s story as she is faced with nearly insurmountable obstacles including turbulence, painful orthodontics, and family struggles. This flight certainly won’t be as simple as it initially appeared to be–will Vanina survive?
Imagine that everything that has ever haunted or pained you converges on you at the same time; that’s what Vanina experiences throughout the course of AirHostess-737. This film is a shit show in the best possible way–as every second of it is chaotic and stressful. There were moments when I had to look away from the film because the constant stressors that plagued Vanina became too much to handle. Relentlessly these things attacked her, one right after the other, and the chaos that she certainly would have been feeling throughout the course of her flight is transferred to viewers early and often. AirHostess-737 becomes our story, not just the story of the characters on screen–and the fact that we are able to, so viciously, feel what they feel is necessary to the film and its success.
The entirety of the film is intimate, not giving the viewer much wiggle room, and rarely allowing them to see anything but Vanina. We are forced to see very little throughout the course of AirHostess-737, and that works in favor of the film in a number of ways. The prominent way is by inducing a sense of claustrophobia. As previously mentioned, AirHostess-737, in more ways than one, becomes the viewers’ story–and forcing us to feel a certain way, to feel like the things occurring on screen are actually affecting us makes that even more true. Writer-Director Thanasis Neofotistos is aggressive in his approach, again, not giving viewers a lot of wiggle room. We are free to think what we want, but he wants us to feel a certain way, and he ensures that, throughout the duration of the film, we feel the way he had planned.
While the film does often feel like it’s the viewer’s story, there are times when we feel like we are in a relationship with Vanina. It’s not necessarily a romantic relationship, but a relationship nonetheless. It feels this way as a result of Neofotistos omitting the other interlocutor from being physically present throughout a majority of her conversation with Vanina. This plays into the idea that, again, we are part of the story–and it strengthens our emotional reaction to what Vanina is experiencing throughout AirHostess-737. Again, we are told what to feel–and it works.
Neofotistos’ aggressive approach may be off putting to some. We are constantly told what to feel throughout AirHostess-737, but we are never told what to think. We are allowed that freedom during the film, and that’s what helps to create balance–what allows us to continue to play a role in the film and stick around. While there are certainly instances of comedy strewn throughout the film, AirHostess-737 is heavy, often hard to handle. Neofotistos continues to create effective and necessary juxtaposition that allows the film to flow as smoothly as it does. Viewers are in for a bumpy ride, but it’s worth every second.
Directed by Thanasis Neofotistos.
Written by Thanasis Neofotistos & Grigoris Skarakis.
Starring Lena Papaligoura, Konstantina Koutsonasiou, & Haris Alexiou.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
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