The Loser Takes It All

The Loser Takes It All (Greek: Ο χαμένος τα παίρνει όλα, romanized: O chamenos ta pairnei ola) is a 2002 Greek dramatic experimental independent underground art film, the seventh feature film directed by Nikos Nikolaidis. The film, produced by the Greek Film Center and Greek Television ET-1, is the last part of the "Years of Cholera" trilogy beginning with The Wretches Are Still Singing (1979) and Sweet Bunch (1983) which deals with the last decades of the twentieth century. Production of the film was finished by September 2002. The film was first screened at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival on 15 November 2002 and its theatrical release began on 31 January 2003. The film received the Best Director Award and Kostas Gikas received the Best Cinematographer Award for it at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival's Greek State Film Awards in November 2002.[1]

The Loser Takes It All
Theatrical release poster
Ο χαμένος τα παίρνει όλα
Directed byNikos Nikolaidis
Produced byNikos Nikolaidis
Written byNikos Nikolaidis
StarringGiannis Aggelakas
Simeon Nikolaidis
Jenny Kitseli
Ifigenia Asteriadi
Louise Attah
Ioanna Pappa
Savva Loumi
Melissa Stoili
Maro Mavri
Christos Houliaras
George Houliaras
Kostas Katsikis
Dimitris Katsimanis
Themis Katz
Stefanos Lazarinos
Grigoris Pimenidis
Notis Pitsilos
Takis Tsagaris
Michele Valley
Music byGiannis Aggelakas
Simeon Nikolaidis
CinematographyKostas Gikas
Edited byGiorgos Triandafyllou
Production
company
Greek Film Center
Greek Television ET-1
Distributed byGreek Film Center
Greek Television ET-1
Prooptiki
Release date
15 November 2002 (Thessaloniki International Film Festival)
Running time
120 Minutes
CountryGreece
LanguageGreek
Budget₯ 280,000,000

Plot

The story revolves around five characters: a fortysomething, the "Man," who has memories from the "years of cholera;" an alcoholic woman, Odetti, who goes by the pseudonym of "Madame Raspberry;" a Senegalese stripper named Mandali; the "Little Guy," a guitar player and music lover; and Elsa, the protagonist's ex-girlfriend who is now a barwoman. The characters meet in order to fulfill their longstanding dream: leaving the city for an exotic island on a journey of no return. Thus they get involved with the dark world of the night.

Crew
  • Director and Writer: Nikos Nikolaidis
  • Producer: Nikos Nikolaidis
  • Music and Soundtrack: Giannis Aggelakas and Simeon Nikolaidis
  • Cinematographer: Kostas Gikas
  • Editor: Giorgos Triandafyllou
  • Set Decorator and Costume Designer: Marie-Louise Bartholomew
  • Makeup Artist: Katerina Oikonomidoy
  • Sound: Antonis Samaras
  • Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Kostas Varybopiotis

Cast
  • Giannis Aggelakas as Man
  • Simeon Nikolaidis as Little Guy
  • Jenny Kitseli as Odetti
  • Ifigenia Asteriadi as Elsa
  • Louise Attah as Mandali
  • Ioanna Pappa as Melissa
  • Savva Loumi as Blonde
  • Melissa Stoili as Agni
  • Maro Mavri as Television Woman
  • Christos Houliaras as Cameraman
  • George Houliaras as First Dealer
  • Kostas Katsikis
  • Dimitris Katsimanis as Short Guy
  • Themis Katz as Second Dealer
  • Stefanos Lazarinos as Third Dealer
  • Grigoris Pimenidis as Detective
  • Notis Pitsilos as Pawnbroker
  • Takis Tsagaris as "El Dorado" Boss
  • Michele Valley as Dead Mother

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack contains the following songs:

  • "It's a Wonderful World" by Simeon Nikolaidis
  • "Space in Time" by Simeon Nikolaidis
  • "Into Town" by Simeon Nikolaidis

The soundtrack was released in 2003 by the company Hitch Hyke Records and includes twenty-eight pieces (mostly instrumental), including the song "The Loser Takes It All" (Greek: «Ο χαμένος τα παίρνει όλα,» tr. "O chamenos ta pairnei ola") sung by Giannis Aggelakas. It was later reissued by Aggelakas' record label All Together Now.

References
  1. "General 2002: International Competition Awards". Thessaloniki International Film Festival (Information: Awards). Retrieved 5 September 2014.

Further reading
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