Alps (BLU-RAY)

US Import

Alps is a mysterious and moving investigation into the process of mourning, a stunningly original follow-up to director Yorgos Lanthimos' Oscar-nominated debut, DOGTOOTH (2009).

An oddball group of four people (made up of two hospital employees, a gymnast, and her coach) form a secret society that sets out to ease the grieving process for those whose loved ones have died. For a fee they will act the part of the missing family member, learning their hobbies and eccentricities in order to help the customer accept their loss. As methadone is to heroin addiction, so are the Alps, as they call themselves, to the mourning process. But when the nurse known as Monte Rosa (Aggeliki Papoulia, also in DOGTOOTH) begins to attach too deeply to her subjects, their project spirals out of control into violence and confusion.

Winner of the Best Screenplay Award at the Venice Film Festival, Alps proves that co-writer and director Lanthimos is one of the most talented and provocative filmmakers working today.