I fear the worst before screening a film, which is described in such a way as Hardcore has been. For example, in the Philly Gay and Lesbian Film Festival guide, Hardcore is compared to EYES WIDE SHUT, TRAINSPOTTING and elsewhere to the films of Quentin Tarantino! Ugh, what kind of pretentious hipster mess have I gotten myself involved in! HELP!!!!

Lucky for me (and everyone else) the Greek film Hardcore shares very little in common with the aforementioned films/director. Sure there's a scene at a party that that 'could' sorta parallel that of EYES WIDE SHUT, and there's some drug use/quick style editing/house music that one could say is reminiscent of TRAINSPOTTING. I guess I 'could' sorta see the comparison. As far as the Tarantino reference? Well, I think we may be a bit too quick in this day and age to reference a filmic comparison to Tarantino, so we'll just leave that at that. Minor comparisons aside, Hardcore is in a league all its own.

(Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Film Society)

Hardcore is the story of two young (16 & 17 year old) Greek prostitutes named Martha and Nadia (Katerina Tsavalou and Danai Skiadi), who work in a low class whorehouse of sorts. Run by a seedy father-type fella named Manos (Andreas Marianos), who loves to categorize the 'importance' of a gig by colored post it notes (he's very proud of this tracking method). And it would appear as if most (if not all) of his employees are teenage runaways (both male and female). Nice fella really, he 'initiates' his new young girls with a huge rubber dildo and celebrates their 100th post it note completion with a piggyback ride around the office. Pretty much from day one both Nadia and Martha compete with one another in a never-ending battle of superiority. The two eventually form an inevitable bond and close friendship - being so close to age in such a horrendous environment. Are they friends? Are they lovers? Does a jealous streak still run between them over work, boys and the possibility of their future fame/fortune? Will I ever get on with it here?

The story, told from Martha's narrative point of view is both sad and uplifting all at the same time. Characters are central to the story here, not just a flashy directorial style (despite its presence), which is why I don't feel wholly comfortable with the above comparisons. Hardcore is at its best unnervingly realistic. Unfortunately, much like another film I've seen at this years' Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (Night Watch) Hardcore suffers from an ending that just won't quit. Even at a brisk 97-minutes, the end unfortunately, seems quite long. The ending that never ends aside, Hardcore is ultimately still a really rewarding cinematic experience.

With such strong characters and development, Hardcore comes with a recommendation that's quite high. Much like Night Watch (a tale of male street prostitution) Hardcore is gritty and quite often disturbing in its attempt at realism. Know this going in and Hardcore will likely wind up a cinematic experience you won't soon forget.