We Have Only One Life (1958)
A bank teller discovers an accounting error, becomes rich and lives his life like he's never lived it.
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Reviews
It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.
The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.
Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.
Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.
A film that was meant to make international career, far beyond the Greek borders and definitely deserved to. The performance of D. Horn, one of the most important actors of the century in Greece, is outstanding. The plot is excellent, with clever findings, the story is deep, very human, and sensitive. This kind of films that force you to look inside you and reconsider, and at the same time funny and tender. It is really a pity that did not make it abroad, and therefore i do not know if it is easy to be found with subtitles. Recently , in Greece there was released a DVD with English subtitles. If you find a copy , it is definitely worth to watch.
Who wouldn't like to be rich, have the girl of his dreams and live the "big life" ? How many people, given the chance, would sacrifice their honesty in order to materialize their desires and live their dreams - even if just for a while ? And what about the price one has to pay for his thriftlessness ? All these questions were as timely in 50s' Greece as they are today all over the world. And if you ever had those questions yourself, you will surely identify with Dimitris Horn in one of his more exquisite performances. Javellas's direction is nothing less than inspired and conveys magnificently the nuances of the script.This is not a comedy per se; a more appropriate description would be "a bitter but upbeat satire". I don't know how exactly a non-Greek could ever run into this film, but if you do you'd better not miss it. My only gripe is the -almost- happy end which is somewhat unrealistic in my eyes, and in direct contrast with the bitter realism of the rest of the movie. In a way, it reminds me of the ending of "Breakfast at Tiffany's". But I guess others will love it the way it is. In any case, this movie is an amazingly poignant comment on money and the way it relates to our dreams and especially the most fugacious of them: love.