Six well-off men cross the Aegean Sea on a luxury yacht. To pass the time while moored in a harbour during a technical breakdown, they decide to play a game: each of the men’s behaviour, however trivial, is rated by the rest of the group. The prize: to leave the boat as »the best man«, wearing a trophy ring, the Chevalier, as proof.

The constant mutual observation develops into a kind of absurdist theatre. The men start competing against each other in cleaning, singing or diving. They award points for the elegance of their sleeping positions and the quality of their cooking skills. At the end, they even rate each other’s telephone calls with their partners and compare penis sizes. The men demonstrate a wide spectrum of feelings and actions, every minor activity randomly becoming part of the contest, its absurdity becoming more and more blatant. Feelings of superiority and strength alternate with humiliation and embarrassment. But none of the men is willing to leave the boat before being declared the winner.
After Attenberg, her celebrated debut from 2010, Tsangari now offers us a study of male rituals in the form of an original experiment. Cinema’s male perspective is turned around, as it were: the men observe each other constantly, just like Tsangari‘s camera. Her study of dominance and oppression makes fun of competitiveness and self-optimisation. Chevalier is an allegory of Greek society and a commentary on the gradual loss of privacy.
The book upon which the film is based was co-written by screenwriter Efthimis Filippou, who also co-wrote Lobster and Dogtooth. Like Tsangari herself, he is also part of the new Greek cinema.

In cooperation with Filmpalette