This article needs a plot summary.(March 2022) |
Echoes of the Past | |
---|---|
Directed by | Nicholas Dimitropoulos |
Written by | Dimitrios Katsantonis |
Produced by | Stelios Kotionis Dimitrios Katsantonis |
Starring | Max von Sydow Astrid Roos Danae Skiadi Nikolas Papagiannis Martin Laer Alice Krige Tomas Arana Yorgo Voyagis Maximos Livieratos |
Cinematography | Yorgos Rahmatoulin |
Edited by | Giannis Halkiadakis |
Music by | Alexandros Sidiropoulos |
Production company | Foss Productions |
Distributed by | Tanweer Productions House of Film |
Release date |
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Running time | 99 minutes |
Country | Greece |
Languages | English Greek |
Echoes of the Past (also titled Kalavryta 1943) [1] is a 2021 Greek fiction drama directed by Nicholas Dimitropoulos, written by Dimitrios Katsantonis, and starring Max von Sydow in his final film role. [2] The film is inspired by the infamous 'Massacre of Kalavryta' named after the homonymous Greek village invaded by Nazi troops in 1943. Caroline Martin, a lawyer representing Germany's government on Greek reparations claims, visits Greece and meets one of the remaining survivors of the massacre Nikolas Andreou. As Nikolas recounts the events of the past, all their personal prejudices and beliefs that meant to keep divided will bring them together. Their cathartic journey through this dark chapter of history reflects their shared need for gaining hope again. [3]
Echoes of the past premiered at the 62nd Thessaloniki Film Festival acquiring positive responses from both critics and the audiences. [4] The film was theatrically premiered in Greece on November 8, 2021, at Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center [5] and released to the cinemas on November 11, 2021. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic the film had a strong box office run with 40,000 tickets sold within the first two weeks of its theatrical premiere. The film is also available across several VOD and digital platforms, including Amazon Prime and Google TV. [6] The film made its North American debut during the Greek International Film Festival Tour of Canada in October 2022. [7] Also, in October 2022, Echoes of the Past, premiered in Australia at the Greek Film Festival- Australia. [8]
Echoes of the past won the Youth Jury Award for Best Film at the 62nd Thessaloniki Film Festival. [9] The jury noted that they “believe that the spark of this movie is necessary to turn into a flame both in our country and abroad, so that its clear - at least to us - message becomes evident to everyone: zero tolerance to fascism”. The movie has also acquired four nominations at the Hellenic Film Academy Awards. [10] Echoes of the Past won the Best Feature Film Award during the GIFFT 2022. [11]
Cara McWilliam-Richardson, reviewing for the people's movies, [12] stated that “Echoes of the Past is a thought provoking and watchable drama with a powerful performance from Von Sydow.” Jon Donnis, writing for the beentothemovies.com, [13] exclaimed that Echoes of the past is “A truly powerful film, that anyone with an interest in history should watch.” On FilmHounds, [14] Mark Goodyear, said that “Dimitropoulos does all his best work as he highlights the men and women of Kalavryta dealing with the toughest things anyone can ever face.” On film-forums.com, [15] Ben Kelly and Richard Williams stated that the film is “A thoroughly impressive work which manages to be a testament to both the subject matter and the star now lost to us.” highlighting “Sydow’s flawless final performance”.
However, a lot of controversy emerged after the release of the film regarding the dramatization of the facts surrounding the historical event of Kalavryta. In an interview with Variety, director Nicholas Dimitropoulos [16] noted that “He was inspired to share the tragic story of Kalavryta, which remains little-known outside of Greece, to teach audiences about a dark chapter in Europe’s recent past at a time when fascism around the world is on the rise.”
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian awarded the film two stars out of five, calling it an "odd, stilted and contrived movie..." [17]
Kevin Maher of The Times also awarded the film two stars out of five and wrote, "It’s odd, amateurish and uneven. The subject, and indeed von Sydow, deserved better." [18]
Thessaloniki, also known as Thessalonica, Saloniki, Salonika, Salonicco, or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece, with slightly over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of Macedonia, the administrative region of Central Macedonia and the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace. It is also known in Greek as "η Συμπρωτεύουσα", literally "the co-capital", a reference to its historical status as the Συμβασιλεύουσα or "co-reigning" city of the Byzantine Empire alongside Constantinople.
Max von Sydow was a Swedish-French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television series in multiple languages. Capable in roles ranging from stolid, contemplative protagonists to sardonic artists and menacing, often gleeful villains, von Sydow received numerous accolades including honors from the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival. He was nominated for two Academy Awards: for Best Actor for Pelle the Conqueror (1987) and for Best Supporting Actor for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011).
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The Distomo massacre was a Nazi war crime which was perpetrated by members of the Waffen-SS in the village of Distomo, Greece, in 1944, during the German occupation of Greece during World War II.
The Kalavryta massacre, or the Holocaust of Kalavryta, was the near-extermination of the male population and the total destruction of the town of Kalavryta, Axis-occupied Greece, by the 117th Jäger Division (Wehrmacht) during World War II, on 13 December 1943.
Emotional Arithmetic is a 2007 Canadian drama film directed by Paolo Barzman, based on the novel by Matt Cohen, about the emotional consequences for three Holocaust survivors when they are reunited decades later. The film stars Gabriel Byrne, Roy Dupuis, Christopher Plummer, Susan Sarandon, and Max von Sydow. It opened at the Toronto International Film Festival, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on September 15, 2007, and was released, in Canada, on April 18, 2008.
Father is a 1990 film about a retired German immigrant living in Australia, Joe Muller, who is accused by a strange woman named Iya Zetnick of being a former Nazi who committed war crimes during the Second World War. His daughter, Anne Winton, is not certain whom to believe.
O Drákos, or simply The Dragon, is a 1956 Greek existential and satirical drama crime film, directed by Nikos Koundouros. It tells the story of Thomas, a mousey and dull bank clerk whose physical appearance leads him to be confused with a fierce and notorious criminal. The film highlights as a theme the alienated modern individual and the alienation from the fear imposed by a central government in a social level as well, and encompasses artistically neorealist, expressionist and ancient Greek tragedy features. The film also satirizes the film noir genre. The plot was based on a script by Iakovos Kambanellis, one of Greece's most prominent playwrights, and the music score was written by Manos Hadjidakis with the collaboration of Vasilis Tsitsanis. Although the film was a commercial disaster on its release, it is considered to be one of the most significant works of Modern Greek cinema.
Hellenic Train S.A., formerly TrainOSE S.A., is a private railway company in Greece which operates passenger and freight trains on OSE lines. Hellenic Train employs train crews, operators and manages most of the rail services throughout the Greek railway network, leasing rolling stock owned by GAIAOSE except for ETR 470 trains.
The Thessaloniki railway station, or Thessaloniki railway station is the main central passenger railway station and terminal of Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city. It is located in the central quarter of Xirokrini on Monastiriou Street and was inaugurated on 12 June 1961, the passenger station replaced the older and much smaller passenger station which now handles the city's cargo rail, hence the "new" sometimes used in the name.
Hellenic Film Academy Awards or Hellenic Iris Awards are a set of awards given annually by the Hellenic Film Academy for excellence of cinematic achievements in Greek cinema, replacing the abolished Greek State Film Awards. On May 3, 2010 the first awards ceremony was presented at the Athens Concert Hall. Since 2016 the awards renamed to Iris Awards.
The Greek Women's Volleyball League is organised by Hellenic Volleyball Federation. In 2021–22 championship took part 14 clubs.
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