Chevalier

During a fishing trip out at sea, a group of six friends decides to find out once and for all: who is the best man of the bunch?

A fishing trip brings six male friends together on a luxury yacht off the coast of Athens in the Aegean Sea. By night, the men play parlour games to pass the time, but when trivial competitiveness takes hold, they decide to play a new game: Chevalier.

The winner of Chevalier is the man who is the best of everything, with every aspect of their lives under scrutiny. And so, the arbitrary point scoring begins – points for the best jet-skier, the best underwear, the hairiest chest. Fragile male egos are tested and insecurities come to the surface.

Curator’s Note

Macho posturing: +5 points. Covering up for feelings of inadequacy: +10 points.

Athina Rachel Tsangari’s hilarious examination of a male-only microcosm certainly puts the social dynamics of men under the microscope. But underneath the comedy is a potent interrogation of our personal improvement-obsessed culture.

Tsangari co-wrote the film with Efthymis Filippou, who was propelled onto the world stage after co-writing Dogtooth and Alps with Yorgos Lanthimos – both of which were co-produced by Tsangari.

Chevalier premiered at the Locarno Film Festival to high praise and won the Best Film award at the London Film Festival. Best film – how fitting.

- Reece Goodwin, Curator (Film & TV)