"Face Control" is an invigorating and fresh romantic drama about a man who believes that destiny has sent him his ideal soul mate, but she turns out to be a femme fatale.

It is the best of the three Greek films at the 2006 Chicago International Film Festival that dealt with sadomasochism in one way or another (the other two were "The Zero Years" and "Soul Kicking").

The film was well directed by Vangelis Seitanidis. He wrote books on Wim Wenders and Robert Altman as well as the screenplay for "Beautiful People (2001)."

The main character is not especially likeable in the film's opening. Savvas makes his living by being a professional snob. He works at a trendy nightclub in Athens, and he gets to decide who comes in and who stays out. If he does not like your face he will not let you in, so he works in "face control."

After many years of contentment, he has a mid-life crisis. A beautiful young woman named Lia crashes her car into his, and he thinks it’s love at first sight. He believes fate brought them together, but she has some secrets that threaten their bliss.

It turns out that she is a dominatrix, and she is seeing several other men. She is also extremely emotionally unstable and her moods change constantly. She makes Savvas as happy as he has ever been, but her mercurial nature makes their long-term happiness a long shot.

"Face Control" is a stylish, exciting, and slightly uneven film that succeeds most of the time. The colorful characters and lovely cinematography make it worth seeing.