Adults in the Room


Adults in the Room is a 2019 French-Greek film directed by Costa-Gavras. It is based on the book Adults in the Room: My Battle with Europe's Deep Establishment by Yanis Varoufakis about the 2015 Greek bailout. It is Gavras' first feature film that was shot in Greece.

Plot

In 2015, following the Syriza's victory to the 2015 Greek legislative election, greek minister of finance Yánis Varoufákis was tasked by Prime Minister Aléxis Tsípras to negotiate a new deal on the Greek bailouts signed by previous government with the Troïka, in order to avoid the country having to face another debt crisis. However, following successive meetings of the Eurogroup throughout the entire film, Varoufakis proposals are only met with flat refusals from Troïka's institutions. With constant threats from the European institution of an eviction of Greece from the Eurozone if their demands were not met, Greek PM Aléxis Tsípras is forced to sign the MoU, going against popular will which rejected the bailouts through referundum with the No winning with 62% of the ballots. Yánis Varoufákis then resign five months after taking office.

Release

The film was selected to play out of competition at the 76th Venice International Film Festival.

Reception

Jessica Kiang of Variety wrote, "Far too many adults, in far too many rooms, have far too many repetitive conversations about the arcane ins-and-outs of EU policymaking in Costa-Gavras’ maddeningly unfocused 'Adults in the Room.'"
Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "For those interested in how the EU sausage is made — a process that Costa-Gavras mines both for its theatricality and seeming inanity — the film can be a gripping piece of infotainment, even if it runs long at 124 minutes. Others may shy away from so many administrative details, but they will be missing out on a movie that tries to cut through all the red tape and explore the human travails behind the protocols."