Wednesday, February 27, 2008

The Lyricism of Violence


Greece 1971

A sergeant meets Evdokia, a prostitute, and marries her. The harsh light, the rocks, the barren landscape, and the strenuous military training on the one hand, sexuality and prohibition on the other. The environment has a negative effect on the young couple's relationship and the sergeant will try to free himself of their bond. Linked in a common fate that governs their lives, the two lovers rebel against a social system which is more powerful than they are. In the end, they will be crushed, just like in ancient tragedy. The heroes of the film are living on the borderline of a surrealist world which is typically Greek and where absurdity constitutes an everyday element of reality. This is a key film on modern Greek society and one of the most important works of Greek cinema.

From tis site: Thessaloniki International Film Festival

Evdokia means “the expectance, the anticipation of something good”
Der Name Evdokia bedeutet “die Erwartung von etwas Gutem“




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1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

What puts me off in this clip is that it is too stylized. It's very Fassbinder-like. I'm sure that was the director's intention but it somehow does not suit Greek culture.

The aggressive silence in this movie scene makes me think of a old man's pub in Bavaria and not a Greek taverna where it would be much louder and livelier. It could be a scene about Greek immigrants in a conservative Bavarian pub.

It seems to me that director's following the wrong cinematographic role model for a Greek film. Of course a film artist is permitted to use any style he wants to get his message across but to me, the extreme silence just doesn't fit.

February 28, 2008 at 9:56 PM  

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