Finally, a film based in London about Greek Cypriots; we have wailed for this moment to arrive and our cries have been heard! We are a nostalgic nation who’s stubborn and at the same time charming ability to turn loss and tragedy into something uplifting hard to beat. British playwright Marcus Markou directed and wrote Papadopoulos and Sons triumphantly capturing with honesty the very heart of the United Kingdoms Cypriot community; family, food and a pinch of Cypriot snobbery.
Played by Stephen Dillane, Harry Papadopoulos has become the entrepreneurial king of the Halloumi and Taramasalata business after his humble start battering cod in the family run Fish n Chip shop; The Three Brothers. They were the good old days when you’d close up shop and invite your friends and neighbours for a greasy lock in; a game of cards, a bottle of Johnnie Walker and an impromptu party had begun. Harry and his family worked their fingers to the bone and looked to their Patron Saints to give them the strength needed to have fun after a hard day.
The black sheep of the family (there is always one) Spiros Papadopoulos played by the enigmatic Georges Corraface resurfaces to help his reluctant brother Harry as he loses everything after being hit by a financial crisis. As it turns out ‘Uncle Spiros’ is a spirited, misunderstood soul who proves his weight in chip fat and pickled onions as together they re-open The Three Brothers. He is a romantic at heart and Harry’s three children see him as a source of light-hearted inspiration after the heaviness that had weighed them down since their mothers premature death.
Not without its hysterically funny moments, Papadopoulos and Sons is essentially about loss and in this film there is more than one for the family to come to terms with. How they cope is an eye opener for anyone who thinks there is no light at the end of the tunnel even with the threat of a Turkish Kebab Shop opposite. There is a place for Shish and Scampi on the same street, subtly and intelligently putting to bed any rumours of lingering animosity between our two nations.
Supported by several global film festivals, this piece of British film making is exactly what our Cinema’s lack. Understandable humor, sadness, survival, passion and love. Cyprus may well be the island of love but you don’t have to be a Cypriot to fall for Papadopoulos and Sons.