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 date
  • 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 adopted-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.
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