It is clear from some of the more glowing reviews that this film tends to be judged by its value as a true story, and I will take the same approach.
Zero stars. Anyone who knows anything about the Greece of the 40s can recognise Gage's book about his mother for the cynical money spinner that it is. The film dishes up the same claptrap.
The much-maligned ELAS was the only effective resistance organisation in Greece. It was loved and supported by the majority of Greeks, due to its commitment to the fight against fascism, its strict discipline and its respect for the rights and needs of the Greek people. Its founder Ares Velouchiotis became a legend in his own time, a byword for military genius, toughness and fairness, with numerous songs composed about him even before his death.
After the British handed Greece over to the collaborators, the criminal classes and the pusillanimous, civil war was inevitable. Eventually Greek children were moved across the border to escape the napalm that was being dropped on them by America, but with parental approval. As Gage concedes, Eleni was executed by ELAS for treachery, and her name is still hated in her village today.
Zero stars. Anyone who knows anything about the Greece of the 40s can recognise Gage's book about his mother for the cynical money spinner that it is. The film dishes up the same claptrap.
The much-maligned ELAS was the only effective resistance organisation in Greece. It was loved and supported by the majority of Greeks, due to its commitment to the fight against fascism, its strict discipline and its respect for the rights and needs of the Greek people. Its founder Ares Velouchiotis became a legend in his own time, a byword for military genius, toughness and fairness, with numerous songs composed about him even before his death.
After the British handed Greece over to the collaborators, the criminal classes and the pusillanimous, civil war was inevitable. Eventually Greek children were moved across the border to escape the napalm that was being dropped on them by America, but with parental approval. As Gage concedes, Eleni was executed by ELAS for treachery, and her name is still hated in her village today.