Lights, Camera, HYDRA: Brad Pitt To Hit Popular Island for New Film Project
Brad Pitt showing up, George Clooney staying home — but the drama? All in that backdrop
An American actor named Brad Pitt is rolling up to the Greek island of Hydra late February to shoot his new flick, The Riders, where he’s snagging the lead role.
Hydra’s mayor, Giorgos Koukoudakis, recently confirmed the big arrival, saying hundreds of cast and crew will be hitting the small, car-free island.
Directed by Edward Berger, The Riders is set in the ’80s. Pitt plays a dad who picks up his daughter at the airport, only to find his wife mysteriously gone (wait, didn’t Harrison Ford sort of already do this in Frantic? oh well.)
Confession: I’ve long been ambivalent about Hydra. Not because it isn’t pretty — it is. Not because it’s boring — it’s not. But there are few good beaches and the swim spots tend to get crowded when you want them the most (in summer). With the exception of the port, which is ravishing, the island is not exactly easy on the eye. In terms of atmosphere, hmm…it’s a little snobbish, there’s an almost unhealthy fixation on “the arts” and there are way too many references to Leonard Cohen. And no disrespect, but come on: Serge Gainsbourg had a house in Paris, I hear it’s even a museum now, but how many Parisians do you know who obsess over Gainsbourg today or seek validation of their great city through a late charismatic enfant terrible?
Hydra inescapably trades on its past, and Jeff Koons bopping about (usually, in true American hanger-on fashion, on somebody else’s yacht) does not offset that.
Much of this island’s past is storied and significant: lest you doubt that, pop into Hydra’s excellent Museum of History and Archives. But here appearances are a little too just-so for some tastes; even the Piraeus Bank logo is done up in washed-out slate grey to match the main (and only) town’s wan aesthetic. It could strike you as somewhat hamfisted, visually speaking, in that grating we-are-just-so-darn-perfect Nantucket-y kind of way. Islands, it is well-known if not widely acknowledged, should come with a little mayhem. You won’t find it here — not even a sliver of Mykonos or Ibiza.
Then there’s the location. Islands close to Athens are both a temptation and fresh goods spoiled: because when any “Greek island” is thisclose to the capital, it’s bound to succumb to the slings and arrows of mass tourism. In July and August, and even in September, the tourists come by the boatload.
This is Leonard Cohen’s best song, according to multiple sources.
“It’s unbearable here then,” a local Hydriot told me over a freshly baked cherry tart and coffee. “I grew up here,” she added. “You can’t imagine how different it was back then.”
Actually, I can imagine it, because I am from that generation that grew up without a dumb phone clamped to our ears, and without a toxic addiction to Silicon Valley dreck like Instagram and all that TikTok-ery schtick schlokery. Oh well: the good times aren’t coming back, so, like the Pilgrims alighting at Plymouth we’re left having to manage what we’ve got, in the hope that someday something better will come of our own brand of resourcefulness.
It starts with taking a fresh approach to places like Hydra. The way to do it is to do it like a boss. Book a ticket with Alpha Lines and make it business class.
The section you’ll be seated in is higher than the main economy section, which means that not only do you get a better view of the Saronic Gulf but also, it’s quieter. If you feel like having a coffee or nibble, there’ s no need to stand in line at the little Flocafe on board because a member of the staff comes by to take your order. There’s mood lighting. The business-class only bathrooms are nicer and neater than what you find in some airline business classes. If you want to get a breath of fresh air you can go up to the sundeck, which is great except for the cigarette smoke, but this is a problem on many ferries (yes, it’s open air, but not so much when the space is small and a rude smoker lights up four inches from your face). In any case, the Alpha Line’s Speedcat I is the best boat to any of the Saronic islands that I’ve ever taken.
You can schedule your departure to leave the port of Piraeus at 9:45AM, the journey taking about an hour and fifteen minutes. That leaves plenty of time to stroll about the harbor area and have lunch at a nice spot like Oraia or just hang out at one of the better cafes like Isalos. You’ll be all recharged and rested by the time you step back aboard the Speedcat for the 3:45PM ride back to Piraeus.
We can’t really recommend an overnight in Hydra, nor is there much of a need to, given that you can “do” the town in the space of a few hours and for beaches and exploration other islands like Aegina and Poros frankly have more to offer. Note that Hydra has something of a reputation of a paramours’ getaway, à la Niagara Falls. So while Americans tend to go in order to dress up their Instagram many Greek couples go for weekends away from Athens in order to, uh, dress down. The ripple effect of this is that restaurant prices tend to be inflated and really good accommodation options can be few and far between, depending on when you go. Also, yes, there are no cars here. There are donkeys, and a lot of stairs, a mix some may find quaint, while others might find it fine for a Kodak moment but otherwise problematic.
In sum, Hydra: Go for the day & do it the smart way by spending a little more.
And Brad, if you need some tips on where to hang in or around Hydra, well, our people will get back to your people.😎