Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow

Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow
Original title Τριλογία: Το λιβάδι που δακρύζει
Directed by Theo Angelopoulos
Produced by Nikos Sekeris[1]
Written by Theo Angelopoulos
Screenplay by Theo Angelopoulos
Tonino Guerra
Petros Markaris
Giorgio Silvagni
Starring Alexandra Aidini
Thalia Argyriou
Giorgos Armenis
Music by Eleni Karaindrou[2]
Cinematography Andreas Sinanos[3]
Edited by Yorgos Triantafyllou[1]
Distributed by Celluloid Dreams[1]
Release dates
  • 11 February 2004 (2004-02-11) (Berlinale)
Running time
 169 minutes[4][5]
Language Greek[4]
Box office $25 thousand[6][7]

Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow (Greek: Τριλογία: Το λιβάδι που δακρύζει) is an award-winning[8] 2004 Greek romantic historical drama film, written[4] and directed by Theo Angelopoulos.[5][9] It stars Alexandra Aidini, Thalia Argyriou, Giorgos Armenis, Vasilis Kolovos and Nikos Poursanidis,[4] and was released during the 2004 Berlin International Film Festival, on 11 February 2004.[1] It is the first film of a projected trilogy about recent events in Greek history.[8] The Dust of Time (2008) is the second film of the trilogy.[8] In January 2012, Angelopoulos died unexpectedly, leaving the trilogy uncompleted.[8]

Plot

The film revives themes of Angelopoulos' 1975 film The Travelling Players,[10] and its events span from 1919 to the aftermath of World War II.[11] It tells the story of Greek history through the sufferings of one family.[2] A band of refugees that returns to Greece after the Russian Revolution adopts an orphaned girl, Eleni (Alexandra Aidini).[4] Eleni becomes the focus of the story.[2] The film follows her through adolescence and the marriage to her musician half-brother Alexis (Nikos Poursanidis).[4] Eleni becomes pregnant by Alexis,[2] and bears twin boys, who are sent away at birth.[2] Many years later she is forced to marry her widowed adopted father. On her wedding day, Eleni escapes with Alexis to Thessaloniki, where they reunite with their sons.[2] Their lives are then ripped apart by World War II and the ensuing Greek Civil War.[4]

Cast

Reception

Critical reception

Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow received generally favorable reviews from critics. At Metacritic it holds a 73/100 score based on 12 reviews.[12] At Rotten Tomatoes it has a 65% score based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 6.3/10.[13] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film two out of five stars, and commented: "The movie is fiercely austere; no human emotion leaks out and the characters are as blank as chess-pieces."[10] Dana Stevens of The New York Times: "The Weeping Meadow is a beautiful and devastating meditation on war, history and loss."[2] Derek Elley of Variety: "The movie plays like a career summation in which the 68-year-old writer-director has simply run out new ideas."[1]

Awards and nominations

Awards
Nominations

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Elley, Derek (12 February 2004). "Review: ‘Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow’". Variety. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Stevens, Dana (14 September 2005). "Drawing on Greek Myths to Illustrate a Generation of Tragedy". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  3. ↑ Morris, Wesley (15 October 2005). "Lyrical saga unfolds in 'Meadow'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Dawson, Thomas (14 January 2005). "Movies - review - Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow (To Livadi Pou Dakryzei)". BBC Online. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  5. 1 2 Robey, Tim (21 January 2005). "Old-fashioned tale of love and blood". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "The Weeping Meadow (2005)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "Trilogia I: To Livadi pou dakryzei". The Numbers. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Theo Angelopoulos". The Daily Telegraph. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  9. ↑ Atkinson, Michael (6 September 2005). "The Weight of History Anchors an Earnest, Elliptical Odyssey". The Village Voice. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Bradshaw, Peter (21 January 2005). "Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow | Reviews". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  11. ↑ Lane, Anthony (19 September 2005). "Unhappy Families". The New Yorker. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  12. ↑ "Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  13. ↑ "Trilogia: To livadi pou dakryzei (The Weeping Meadow)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  14. ↑ "Competition | Trilogia: To livadi pou dakrisi". Berlin International Film Festival. 2004. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  15. ↑ "European Film Academy : 2004". European Film Academy. 2004. Retrieved 24 April 2015.

External links

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