I don't think any review of this movie could "spoil" it for anyone, as there aren't really any surprises; The plot description pretty much spells it all out. Still...
Firstly, I'm a 1st generation Canadian. Both of my parents are Greek. It happens that I was in Greece just a couple of years after this story takes place, and it certainly depicted that time very accurately, except for one thing: As a 10 year old attending school in Greece (briefly), I of course noticed that teachers hit students--I got my ear twisted once, and only once, but certainly the day didn't go by that at least a few students suffered corporal punishment to some degree. This didn't happen at all in this movie (the teacher was surprisingly tolerant even of talking in class), and I can't help but wonder if schools were different in Athens--I lived in a relatively small town--or was this some kind of rewriting of history.
That aside, I truly enjoy movies that require the viewer to read between the lines to find some of the more subtle aspects of the story and characters; did the older son feel unloved by his father? More likely he had adored his father just as much as his little brother does, when he was the same age, but grew disillusioned as he watched his parents' marriage deteriorate.
A large portion of the movie was dedicated to the relationship between the boy's father and is own very old mother, who obviously had once exercised great control over her sons. When she is finally told of her son's death, she says that she knew it already. Her young grandson, still denying his father's death, is standing behind her.
So I see a beautifully photographed film full of contrasting characters, and in fact I felt that the acting was excellent. The young son was bratty, but it's made quite clear that his father spoils and indulges him. The older son struggles to become the "man of the house" after his father's death, but is shut down by both his mother and his uncle. All of this might seem far-fetched to us here in North America, but remember, we're talking about a society where machismo still obtains, even today.
In the end, perhaps there is much that is happening in this film that simply has no context in our cultures over here.
Firstly, I'm a 1st generation Canadian. Both of my parents are Greek. It happens that I was in Greece just a couple of years after this story takes place, and it certainly depicted that time very accurately, except for one thing: As a 10 year old attending school in Greece (briefly), I of course noticed that teachers hit students--I got my ear twisted once, and only once, but certainly the day didn't go by that at least a few students suffered corporal punishment to some degree. This didn't happen at all in this movie (the teacher was surprisingly tolerant even of talking in class), and I can't help but wonder if schools were different in Athens--I lived in a relatively small town--or was this some kind of rewriting of history.
That aside, I truly enjoy movies that require the viewer to read between the lines to find some of the more subtle aspects of the story and characters; did the older son feel unloved by his father? More likely he had adored his father just as much as his little brother does, when he was the same age, but grew disillusioned as he watched his parents' marriage deteriorate.
A large portion of the movie was dedicated to the relationship between the boy's father and is own very old mother, who obviously had once exercised great control over her sons. When she is finally told of her son's death, she says that she knew it already. Her young grandson, still denying his father's death, is standing behind her.
So I see a beautifully photographed film full of contrasting characters, and in fact I felt that the acting was excellent. The young son was bratty, but it's made quite clear that his father spoils and indulges him. The older son struggles to become the "man of the house" after his father's death, but is shut down by both his mother and his uncle. All of this might seem far-fetched to us here in North America, but remember, we're talking about a society where machismo still obtains, even today.
In the end, perhaps there is much that is happening in this film that simply has no context in our cultures over here.
