The Weeping Meadow
The first part of an incomplete trilogy telling the story of the greek people. The film begins in 1919, with Greek immigrants from Odessa arriving near Thessaloniki. Led by the charismatic Spyros, they establish a new settlement in the delta of a river. The youngest of the settlers are Spyros' son Alexis and an orphan from Odessa, Eleni. A strong, almost incestuous affection develops between the teenagers, resulting in twins who are given to a foster family. Also standing in the way of love is Spyros, determined to take his foster daughter as his wife. The lovers then decide to flee the village, persecuted by their father, leading a life of exile. As Alexis joins a group of musicians planning to go to the United States, Eleni regains custody of the twins. Angelopoulos, as in previous films, looks at the sacrifice of civilians confronted by the workers' demonstrations of 1935, the rule of Metaxas' fascist junta and forced emigration to America, and finally the civil war of 1944-1949.
- Overview
- Cast
- Crew
- Recommendations
The Weeping Meadow
- Overview
- Cast
- Crew
- Recommendations
Status
Released
Release Date
Feb 20, 2004
Runtime
2h 49m
Genres
Drama, History
User Score
75%
Original Title
Το Λιβάδι που δακρύζει
Production Companies
ZDF/Arte, EPT, Attica Art Productions, Networxx - Film Management, Intermédias, Classic, Istituto Luce Cinecittà, Bac Films, Movie Reinhold Elschot, ZDF, Eurimages, Greek Film Centre, Theo Angelopoulos Films, Canal+, ARTE France Cinéma, Network Movie, RAI
Director
Theo Angelopoulos
Revenue
$64,424
Description
The first part of an incomplete trilogy telling the story of the greek people. The film begins in 1919, with Greek immigrants from Odessa arriving near Thessaloniki. Led by the charismatic Spyros, they establish a new settlement in the delta of a river. The youngest of the settlers are Spyros' son Alexis and an orphan from Odessa, Eleni. A strong, almost incestuous affection develops between the teenagers, resulting in twins who are given to a foster family. Also standing in the way of love is Spyros, determined to take his foster daughter as his wife. The lovers then decide to flee the village, persecuted by their father, leading a life of exile. As Alexis joins a group of musicians planning to go to the United States, Eleni regains custody of the twins. Angelopoulos, as in previous films, looks at the sacrifice of civilians confronted by the workers' demonstrations of 1935, the rule of Metaxas' fascist junta and forced emigration to America, and finally the civil war of 1944-1949.
