Iris, the 11-year old raggamuffin protagonist of “Hold Onto Me,” lives in a working class, close knit neighborhood in a port city on the island of Cyprus. When her single mom departs for a 3-day vacation with her boyfriend, saying, “Don’t go out in the streets,” the audience can guess it’s a directive Iris will ignore.
Her mom absent, Iris heads off in search of the deadbeat dad she’s never met who’s returned to town for his own father’s funeral. Aris is a handsome ne’er-do-well, intent on making quick money to pay off a debt to some very shady characters and getting out of town. He has zero interest in Iris. As she follows him, he realizes that she may be good for some of the con jobs he’s scheming. Slowly, skittishly, a tentative connection builds.
A character-driven narrative with carefully-observed details, the film's naturalistic tone dissolves into melodrama in the last 10 minutes of the film. The lead actors, Christos Passalis (Aris) and Maria Petrova (Iris), give nuanced performances. Petrova is particularly compelling, the slightest flickers of emotion on her guarded face show her wariness, wondering can be relied upon.
Directed by Myrsini Aristidou, her first feature is also the first Cypriot film selected to be in Sundance’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition.
On the KPCW sun rating system, “Hold Onto Me” receives four suns out of five.
