Chevalier

Men! We’re awful, aren’t we? That’s the general theme of this spiky, witty, occasionally unsettling black comedy set on a not-quite-luxury yacht somewhere off the Greek coast. That’s where six fairly wealthy guys – not so much friends as loosely connected business associates and family members – have gathered to dive, jetski, play parlour games and bicker about who’s best at spearing bream (not a euphemism).

But as boredom sets in, the most confident of the bunch, Yorgos (Panos Koronis), suggests a new game: let’s find out who’s best. Not at any one thing, but in general: who’s the best man here. And so begins the weirdest pissing contest ever, as everything from sleeping position to stone-skimming to (inevitably) penis size becomes a competitive sport.

Director Athina Rachel Tsangari keeps things brisk, maintaining an almost nature-doc distance from her subjects. Her affection for them is plain, but that doesn’t mean she lets them off the hook, mining big laughs from the awkward everyday interactions between unhappy people forced to share the same space. You could, if you wanted, find underlying ideas about the Greek ruling class and their isolation from reality. Or you could just go for the macho posturing, ego-puncturing and arthouse dick jokes.