The Sunday Morning Herald – Angeliki Papoulia & Syllas Tzoumerkas
by Stephanie Bunbury – What makes A Blast compelling – and what makes it seem nothing like the sort of social-realist film its narrative elements would usually suggest – is its manic energy. We ricochet between past and present as Tzoumerkas tightens the noose on what must happen next; much of Maria’s relationship with Yannis is conveyed through vigorous but expressive sex. Every scene operates at boiling point.
“I go for the more unpredictable stuff,” says Tzoumerkas. “Like we have a base, that this should happen in each take, but then you go for something else, something more in the moment. Something that really creates energy is a kind of extroversion. It’s like the characters really go for action and reaction, they don’t try to be reserved, you know. They go for it.”
It is exactly the kind of film, says Pappoulia, that she is always looking for as an actress.
“I really like these kinds of things, they are risky, edgy. I prefer it to playing in a film saying ‘hello, how are you, I’m fine and you?’ I find a certain joy doing that stuff. I don’t know if that sounds strange but it is the truth.”