It's amazing man's capacity to inflict harm upon each other for any whimsical reason just so long as you give it a noble title like war or freedom. During the Greek Civil War the Communist Party was fighting for the people's freedom. That freedom paradoxically took the form of oppression and repression. The Greek Civil War was yet another war in the history of wars and as always, the people paid the price. Those with the lofty titles and ideals remain unscathed while the rank and file pay mightily.
Eleni "Americana" Katsianas (sp?) (Kate Nelligan) was one of the rank and file that paid mightily and her son, Nikola (John Malkovich), sought to find the truth of her death some 30 years later. He was driven to know what happened to his mother after she helped him escape.
The overriding story was a Greek Civil War, but the more focused message was what a mother would do to protect her children. Eleni put it succinctly when she said, "They took our food. They took our home. They took my dignity. And I gave it, I gave it at every turn, but I will not give them my children." And she made the ultimate sacrifice for her children. She gave her life so that they wouldn't be forced to fight for "the people."
Director Peter Yates used a format of skipping back and forth between present day and 30 years ago to paint us a picture. Through that we saw Nikola's motivation for finding and possibly punishing the men that executed his mother. Nikola was no vigilante, in fact he was the Bureau Chief for the New York Times, but who knows what animus he had towards the fiends who killed his mother.
"Eleni" tears the heart to shreds and Kate Nelligan was the sharp instrument that did the shredding. She tapped into the soul of her character. She breathed fire into the character Eleni and brought her to life. Oh, why are some the most powerful moments also the saddest?
Eleni "Americana" Katsianas (sp?) (Kate Nelligan) was one of the rank and file that paid mightily and her son, Nikola (John Malkovich), sought to find the truth of her death some 30 years later. He was driven to know what happened to his mother after she helped him escape.
The overriding story was a Greek Civil War, but the more focused message was what a mother would do to protect her children. Eleni put it succinctly when she said, "They took our food. They took our home. They took my dignity. And I gave it, I gave it at every turn, but I will not give them my children." And she made the ultimate sacrifice for her children. She gave her life so that they wouldn't be forced to fight for "the people."
Director Peter Yates used a format of skipping back and forth between present day and 30 years ago to paint us a picture. Through that we saw Nikola's motivation for finding and possibly punishing the men that executed his mother. Nikola was no vigilante, in fact he was the Bureau Chief for the New York Times, but who knows what animus he had towards the fiends who killed his mother.
"Eleni" tears the heart to shreds and Kate Nelligan was the sharp instrument that did the shredding. She tapped into the soul of her character. She breathed fire into the character Eleni and brought her to life. Oh, why are some the most powerful moments also the saddest?