Apples (Mila) (2020)
89%RT Audience Score:
Awards & Nominations: 20 wins & 13 nominations
Christos Nikou’s directorial debut, Apples, is a surrealist masterpiece that manages to convey a complex existential journey with deep meaning. The film’s understated deadpan wit and bizarre touches make it a unique and unforgettable experience. Nikou’s risk-taking approach results in a deeply rewarding film that walks a line between humor and pathos. The film’s melancholy restraint and surrealism are so bizarre that you can’t help but laugh. Apples is a half-mocking parable of the individual invented realities in which we increasingly isolate ourselves. It’s a deceptively simple story with a delicious puzzle planted inside that will leave you wanting more. This eccentric, minimalist dramedy is one of the year’s best films so far and is definitely worth a watch.
If you’re looking for a movie that’s equal parts bizarre and heartwarming, then Apples is the perfect pick for you. Christos Nikou’s directorial debut is a surreal journey that manages to be both funny and poignant. The deadpan humor and understated wit make the film’s weirder moments seem totally plausible. And while the story is certainly strange, it’s also deeply rewarding. So if you’re in the mood for a film that’s a little bit off the beaten path, give Apples a try. You won’t be disappointed!
Production Company(ies)
Road Movies Filmproduktion, Argos Films, Westdeutscher Rundfunk
Distributor
Cohen Media Group
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Fåborg, Fyn, Denmark
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language and violence
Year of Release
2005
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby SR
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 31m
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Language(s):Danish
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Country of origin:Greece, Poland, Slovenia
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 24, 2022 Limited
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
Apples, Aris Servetalis, Sofia Georgovasili, Christos Nikou, Iraklis Mavroidis, Angelos Venetis, Aris Dagios, Mariusz Włodarski, Stavros Raptis, Comedy, Drama, Cohen Media Group, MPAA rating, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Barry Hertz, Kathleen Sachs, Justin Chang, Randy Myers, Michael O’Sullivan, Christy Lemire, Karen Gordon, David Bax, Jeff Mitchell, B.L Panther, James Verniere, Alan Zilberman, pandemic, amnesia, recovery program, cassette tapes, surreal, deadpan, identity, loss, memory, self-discovery, society, human experience, existential journey, humor, pathos, minimalist, dramedy, puzzle, fable, gentle film, quiet, observant, reassuring answers
Worldwide gross: $2,421,577
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $3,690,443
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,262
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 402,447
US/Canada gross: $1,305
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,989
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,837
US/Canada opening weekend: $1,305
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $1,989
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,852
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Sofia Georgovassili – Anna
Anna Kalaitzidou
Argyris Bakirtzis
Kostas Laskos
Babis Makridis
Director(s)
Christos Nikou
Writer(s)
Christos Nikou, Stavros Raptis
Producer(s)
Iraklis Mavroidis, Angelos Venetis, Aris Dagios, Mariusz Wlodarski, Christos Nikou
Film Festivals
Venice, Telluride
Awards & Nominations
20 wins & 13 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (85) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (78) | Rotten (7)
We’re able to invest ourselves in Nikou’s world because we can so easily see ourselves in Servetalis’s character.
July 7, 2022
Barry Hertz
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
What this surreal microcosm ends up conveying about the human experience extends past the frame and into viewers’ hearts and minds.
July 1, 2022
Kathleen Sachs
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
It all sounds bizarre on paper. But Apples, the first feature from the director and co-writer Christos Nikou, unfolds with an understated deadpan wit that makes even its weirder touches seem plausible, even logical.
July 1, 2022
Justin Chang
NPR
TOP CRITIC
“Apples” subtly delivers a complex existential journey with deep meaning.
June 29, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
Randy Myers
San Jose Mercury News
TOP CRITIC
[Christos Nikou] has pulled off a neat little trick: He’s told a story that, for reasons that are more easily felt than explained, is hard to shake off.
June 28, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Michael O’Sullivan
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
There’s a melancholy restraint to it, along with a surrealism that is so bizarre that you can’t help but laugh.
June 25, 2022
Christy Lemire
FilmWeek (KPCC – NPR Los Angeles)
TOP CRITIC
Nikou has taken some big risks for his directorial debut. Apples walks a line between humour and pathos that isn’t easily definable. But his restrained and thoughtful approach results in a deeply rewarding film.
July 8, 2022 | Rating: A-minus
Karen Gordon
Original Cin
Apples is a half-mocking parable of the individual invented realities in which we increasingly isolate ourselves.
July 7, 2022
David Bax
Battleship Pretension
Pick ‘Apples’. Christos Nikou’s eccentric, minimalist dramedy is one of the year’s best films so far.
July 5, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
Jeff Mitchell
Phoenix Film Festival
The pleasure of Apples lies in being able to savor the sheen of a deceptively simple story and then bite into the delicious puzzle Christos Nikou has planted inside.
July 4, 2022
B.L. Panther
The Spool
Nice enough, but lightweight fable threatens to float away.
July 1, 2022 | Rating: B
James Verniere
Boston Herald
This is a gentle film—quiet and observant—and instead of existential dread, it arrives at more reassuring answers than you might expect.
July 1, 2022
Alan Zilberman
Washington City Paper…
Plot
Ivan is a priest in a rural church known for the apples that grow on a large tree in front. He’s odd: seeing the world through rose-colored glasses, in denial about personal facts, and convinced he’s at war with Satan. The rectory is a halfway house for recently-paroled convicts. Adam arrives for 12 weeks, a large, tough neo-Nazi, first baffled by Ivan’s thick-headed optimism, then angry. He vows to break Ivan’s faith. Meanwhile, in exasperation at Ivan’s insistence, Adam sets a personal goal: to bake an apple pie. All goes awry for the tree: crows, worms, lightning. The Book of Job gives Adam perverse insight, and his hooligan mates provide the resolution.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy, funny, or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels reviews for Apples.
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