Greek Salad: Busy sequel to Spanish Inn on Prime Video

Released in 2002, The Spanish inn it cradled an entire generation recounting the wanderings of Xavier, an aspiring writer played by Romain Duris, who went to live in Barcelona thanks to an Erasmus programme. He integrated a gleeful, messy twentysomething mixed roommatefrom all over Europe.

This public success was followed in 2005 by Russian dollscentered on the romance between Xavier and his former roommate Wendy (Kelly Reilly), then Chinese puzzle in 2013, in which the 40-year-old couple separated.

A decade later, Cédric Klapisch wanted to hear about Xavier and his tribe. In Greek salad, the director accompanies us in this moment in Athens, where Mia (Megan Northam) and Tom (Aliocha Schneider)the bilingual children (as they should be!) of Xavier and Wendy must receive a real estate inheritance. There, Tom, who was hoping to quickly pocket a large check to launch his start-up, discovers that his sister works in an association that helps refugees. Time to settle the worries of him, integrates a roommate with the melodies of the Tower of Babel …

The Spanish inn faithfully portrayed the experiences of expatriation and shared accommodation; But some things have aged badly in this trilogy from a male perspective. For example, the lesbian character of Isabelle (who unveiled Cécile de France), revolutionary for the time, is constantly objectified, and Xavier proves to be quite insufferable in his fetishistic view of women. For Greek saladCédric Klapisch had a good idea: it no longer centers its story around a single male lead.

Housing crisis and sexual assault

It is by immersing himself in the world of his sister Mia that Tom opens his eyes to his privileges and the inequalities of society. After the first two episodes of exposure, Greek salad find its rhythm and explore strong themes that resonate with current eventssuch as the housing crisis in Europe, squat as a means of anti-capitalist response (at a time when France is passing an anti-squat law), or sexist and sexual violence in far-left circles.

A season-long story arc explores Mia’s relationship with toxic community leader Kristos. The series takes the time to develop its subject, to show how difficult it is for Mia to break free from this gripfile a report for rape, rebuild… Subsequently, a somewhat educational but important discussion takes place with the father, who listens and supports his daughter.

Sign of the Times: Yes Greek salad looking at the comic side and keeping this tender side inherent in the saga, turns out to be much busier than the initial trilogy. She features minor supporting characters as we almost never see on screen: Reem (Reham Alkassar), a Syrian refugee who does not leave Tom indifferent (who suffers from white savior syndrome!), or Noam, a trans and racialized man from Burundi who will bond with Mia.

Embodied by promising trans actor Amir Baylly, this sunny character is good for French fiction. But there’s a but… While Noam and Mia film the perfect love, this last one SPOILER WARNING, dies accidentally. In a cultural landscape where LGBTQI+ characters in general, and transgender people in particular, are extremely rarethis unfortunate choice necessarily has a political resonance. This brutal death sounds like divine retribution as the couple had just spent a rejuvenating weekend on the island of Milos, with queer friends.

Playing up the “Bury your gays” trope, Greek salad tells us that trans (and racialized) characters are expendable. Her death serves as fuel for Mia’s character, who goes through another ordeal, which she quite frankly didn’t need. The funeral episode turns out to be quite violentwith an intolerant father who mistreats his deceased son, but it has the merit of highlighting the concept of the chosen family.

A humanist series

Greek salad is a continuation of the Spanish inn, For better or for worse! We feel one generational tension interesting that gives a job to the mind sometimes progressive, sometimes… boomer. For example, in one frankly pointless scene, Mia and her family discuss the age difference in the couple (meaning the older man and the younger woman), resulting in jokes like: “Desire is not politically correct“. Impossible not to hear Cédric Klapisch’s point of view on the subject.

Despite these drawbacks, Greek salad it remains a generous work. Both popular and committed, it perpetuates the saga’s tradition of multiculturalism, certainly a universalist tendency. We are all equally sensitive to Cédric Klapisch’s desire to bring generations into dialogue (some veterans of the trilogy pass a head, for our greatest pleasure) and to this invitation to find ourselves in the figure of the Other, to overcome his prejudices and question the our priorities in life. A season 2 wouldn’t be turned down.