Film Details

Greece’s Theo Angelopoulos, one of the world’s greatest filmmakers, died unexpectedly in 2012 when he was struck by a motorcycle while shooting a new movie. This 2004 epic, the first part of a projected (and now unfinished) trilogy about 20^th-century Greece, is one of his best. Spanning the years 1919-49, the movie focuses on Eleni, a Greek orphan girl taken in by another Greek family. Eleni eventually marries her new father, a widower, though she really loves her adoptive brother Alexis. So when she and Alexis run away together, they set in motion a father-and-son conflict with mythic overtones – an elemental drama of patriarchy and rebellion set against a backdrop of floods, fascism, war, and civil strife. Angelopoulos tells his allegorical tale in his usual grand fashion, with stunning cinematography, stately long takes, monumental set pieces, and haunting music. “There are moments of such breathtaking grace and artistry that you’d be forgiven for thinking you’re watching the most beautiful movie ever made.” –TV Guide.com