A deeply political film, the first of Theo's highly acclaimed trilogy (the other films being "O Thiasos" and "Oi Kynigoi"). It was filmed during the second dictatorship Greece suffered during the 20th century (1967-1974), the scenery of the film being the first dictatorship, 1936-1941. The main element is that of cleistophobia, a cleistophobia directly associated with constant and poignant political instability that leads society to an existential crisis. An important point is that, although we can roughly infer the time of the narration, no temporal indication is discernible in the film. The film swings between the historical and a- or super-historical, giving an essence of universality, while making a direct and compelling political comment.
The scenery shown is limited.
The place where the unionist was assassinated (by Sofianos ??), the landscape where the prison stands, a marina, a seaside resort, another open landscape, where an inauguration takes place, and the prison. The prison is the central place of the narration, carries and conveys a loaded symbolic. I would classify the scenery by the words intramural and extramural, the intramural being the scenery of the prison and the extramural that of the other places. All have a political function. The intramural being the place where the crisis of the plot evolves, the extramural being a complement to the dismemberment taking place in the intramural. The long shots give a theatrical effect and a documentary style at times.
The film has a number of powerful scenes, of which i pick two out. The first is that of the music being played in the yard of the prison by request of Sofianos, giving rise to the second (less violent) prison riot. The second is the closing scene of the multiple execution, which completes a ring composition of assassinations at the beginning and at the end of the film, with death in a literal and in an abstract level being one of the main leitmotifs of the film.
Interestingly, the film was awarded the first national prize in the Thessaloniki festival in 1972. No comment.
The scenery shown is limited.
The place where the unionist was assassinated (by Sofianos ??), the landscape where the prison stands, a marina, a seaside resort, another open landscape, where an inauguration takes place, and the prison. The prison is the central place of the narration, carries and conveys a loaded symbolic. I would classify the scenery by the words intramural and extramural, the intramural being the scenery of the prison and the extramural that of the other places. All have a political function. The intramural being the place where the crisis of the plot evolves, the extramural being a complement to the dismemberment taking place in the intramural. The long shots give a theatrical effect and a documentary style at times.
The film has a number of powerful scenes, of which i pick two out. The first is that of the music being played in the yard of the prison by request of Sofianos, giving rise to the second (less violent) prison riot. The second is the closing scene of the multiple execution, which completes a ring composition of assassinations at the beginning and at the end of the film, with death in a literal and in an abstract level being one of the main leitmotifs of the film.
Interestingly, the film was awarded the first national prize in the Thessaloniki festival in 1972. No comment.