Greece

Considered to be one of the most powerful and emotional Greek movies, Rembetiko focuses on the life of an individual woman, a real person, and through her personal story, it retells the story of Greece, from 1920 to 1955: the national disaster in Minor Asia, the one million refugees who came to Greece, the World War II, the Nazi occupation, the Civil War, immigration. The revival of an era, the recall of lost ethics of the old time musicians, and all the elements of a popular music drama, compose this epic masterpiece, accompanied by the music and songs of Stavros Xarhakos (most of them with lyrics by Nikos Gkatsos).

A voyage to history of the first half of the 20th century, but also a voyage to the origins of rembetiko – a Greek form of urban blues performed in lowclass joints where the social misfits of the twenties known as “rembetes” gathered.Read More »

Synopsis (Written by Theo Angelopoulos):
A, an American film director of Greek ancestry, is making a film that tells his story and the story of his parents. It is a tale that unfolds in Italy, Germany, Russia, Kazakhstan, Canada and the USA. The main character is Eleni, who is claimed and claims the absoluteness of love. At the same time the film is a long journey into the vast history and the events of the last fifty years that left their mark on the 20th century. The characters in the film move as though in a dream. The dust of time confuses memories. A searches for them and experiences them in the present. Read More »

Ο Ηρακλής, ο Αχελώος και η γιαγιά μου

Dimitra Koutsiabassakos is 88 years old and lives alone in the village of Armatoliko in the Pindos mountain range, on the banks of the ancient river Acheloos, named after the mythical river god who fought Heracles for the favors of a woman and who could take on many forms. Dimitra’s home is located near the place where a great dam is being built and lies right in the middle of the area destined to become a lake after construction is completed. By a strange quirk of fate, the materials used in the construction of the dam are a product of a cement company named “Heracles”, so that it seems that the age-old contest between Acheloos and Heracles continues to the present day! Dimitris, Costas and Petros decide to pay their grandmother a visit and make a documentary.

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Quote:
Even as Greek cinema slowly abandons its notorious aesthetic weirdness, Greek directors remain preoccupied with the same social and political national issues, now being depicted through a renewed enthusiasm for the abstract. Four years after her unconventional debut, The Eternal Return of Antonis Paraskevas [+], Elina Psykou follows a new visual path in her second feature film, Son of Sofia [+]. The film has just enjoyed its world premiere in the International Narrative Competition section of the Tribeca Film Festival.Read More »

SYNOPSIS:
Greece, 1654. A seriously wounded Janissary arrives at a cloister situated on a cliff, and the sisters take him in and care for him. Sister Anthi, one of those who tends him, falls in love with the soldier and eventually helps him escape. The central focus of the film does not come out of its historical context but is derived from the relationship between the two main characters and, above all, from the quest for freedom and identity for young Anthi. The initially silent sister, hiding a surprising secret, discovers heretofore unknown desires that lead her to a radically altered view of herself.Read More »

from the back cover:
In 1907, in the parts of Greece that are liberated, not all Greeks feel free and the biggest ranges of the Thessalian valley are owned by a few big landowners. The farmers who are forced to work like slaves find in Marinos, a well educated young man, their ideal
representative. Odysseus, son of one of the big landowners, supports Marinos and conflicts with his father and brother, a conflict with a tragic end.Read More »

Two young women on the wrong side of both society and the law fall into a dangerous love affair in this stylish drama from Greece. Martha is a cynical 17-year-old drug addict who supports her habit by working as a prostitute for pimp Manos. Martha has resigned herself to a short and ugly life on the streets when she meets Nadia, a 16-year-old who has fallen into the street life and is also hooking for Manos. Martha and Nadia are rivals at first, especially when Nadia attracts the attentions of good-looking hustler Argyris, for whom Martha has long carried a torch. But in time, the two girls become close friends, and then Nadia takes their relationship to a new level by seducing Martha. Martha falls hard for Nadia, but Nadia takes a more opportunistic attitude toward their new romance, and refuses to break things off with Argyris, while Martha retaliates by becomes involved with Miltos, a close friend of Argyris.
-All Movie GuideRead More »

Synopsis:
O Megalos Erotikos (Magnus Eroticus) is a song cycle of Manos Hadjidakis. In the film the camera tries to capture the atmosphere of the music. An optical voyage in Athens, a free play of image and sound.Read More »

Synopsis:
A prostitute (Evdokia) meets a sergeant (Yorgos). They fall in love and get married after a short love affair. Her profession, however, is a barrier for their relationship. They try to stay together and overcome their inner conflicts, but the social environment crushes them.Read More »