The majority of Greek movies whose plot is mainly social, are bad. Extremely bad, to the point of boredom & depression. This is one of them.This movie is inspired by a hijack on a long-distance bus, that took place in North Greece in 1999, where an Albanian went mad, took hostages and went back to Albania, where the Albanian police shot him, along with a Greek passenger that resembled him.This could be an intense movie, but Giannaris preferred to rip-off some pieces of Speed, in a very bad way, adding to this mixture some very bad acting from the most actors and actresses, who sing like in a '50s Greek movie. Also, the death of the hijacker is one of the worst in cinema, ever made. The whole scene is hilariously bad.Don't watch it. Just don't.

I'm voting a 9, because it's a convincing, good film. But as far a it being a true story.... not exactly. I was in Greece on vacation in 1998 when this happened. At the time; Albanian refugees were living in Greece. Greeks felt sorry for them, as they do for so many others;( their biggest downfall), and allowed them into their homes, jobs, lives... and in return they robbed banks, killed their hosts and terrorized the country. This movie portrayed the situation as an innocent, good-looking boy treated as a slave in Greece. With a bus full of Stockholm syndrome victims!! And done so well; I almost fell for it. I heard the entire thing live on the radio; this bastard shoved the grenade in the lady's pants and threatened to pull the pin for hours; and then finally did.

This film is a different film than most we see in the US. Stockholm Syndrome? You must be related to some failed Alaskan politico! No, you see bumpkin, in other countries people actually have feelings and have the capability of recognizing another human beings suffering. This movie is about the unifying effect that is brought about slowly as the Albanian conveys to his hostages and the audience as well. By the end of the movie, if you have any heart at all, you feel badly and have sympathy for the title character. If you don't get it, stick to Disney offerings, their plots are a lot simpler.This movie will appeal to those who are anti-Greek, those who love European films and those who enjoy a good "human" story. It is always refreshing to see films that tell a different story than the steady diet of what we get in the US.

I recently saw this film at a festival of Greek culture in London and unfortunately it had quite the opposite effect that the event intended, presenting modern Greece as a divided wasteland in a way that Giannaris seems to enjoy.As you can tell I'm not a fan of this man's work. Although most of his films demonstrate competence they never rise above their petty desire to appeal to the international market that Giannaris so obviously craves. To make matters worse he has insisted on casting his 'From the Edge of the City' boy-toy Stathis Papadopoulos in his recent films. The boy cannot act, and has about as much menace as a slightly cheesed-off male model. I think cinema has had enough of 'non-professional' casts being used as a means of supposedly adding 'realism' to a film. Drama schools exist for a reason.Ultimately, this film is a great disappointment. Especially considering the potential of the storyline.