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Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow

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Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow
Greek poster for the film.
Original titleΤριλογία: Το λιβάδι που δακρύζει
Directed byTheo Angelopoulos
Screenplay byTheo Angelopoulos
Tonino Guerra
Petros Markaris
Giorgio Silvagni
Produced byNikos Sekeris[1]
Starring
  • Alexandra Aidini
  • Thalia Argyriou
  • Giorgos Armenis
CinematographyAndreas Sinanos[2]
Edited byYorgos Triantafyllou[1]
Music byEleni Karaindrou[3]
Distributed byRosebud (Greece)
Celluloid Dreams[1] (Worldwide)
Release dates
  • 11 February 2004 (2004-02-11) (Berlinale)
  • 20 February 2004 (2004-02-20)
Running time
169 minutes[4][5]
CountryGreece
LanguageGreek[4]
Box office$64,424[6][7]

Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow (Greek: Τριλογία: Το λιβάδι που δακρύζει) is a 2004 Greek historical drama film written[4] and directed by Theo Angelopoulos.[5][8] 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.[9] Followed in 2008 with The Dust of Time, the trilogy was ultimately left incomplete after Angelopoulos' unexpected death in January 2012.[9]

Plot

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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.[3] 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.[3] The film follows her through adolescence and the marriage to her musician adopted-brother Alexis (Nikos Poursanidis).[4] Eleni becomes pregnant by Alexis,[3] and bears twin boys, who are sent away at birth.[3] 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.[3] Their lives are then ripped apart by World War II and the ensuing Greek Civil War.[4]

Cast

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Reception

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Critical reception

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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 67% score based on 27 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."[3] 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

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Awards
Nominations

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Elley, Derek (12 February 2004). "Review: 'Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow'". Variety. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  2. ^ Morris, Wesley (15 October 2005). "Lyrical saga unfolds in 'Meadow'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Stevens, Dana (14 September 2005). "Drawing on Greek Myths to Illustrate a Generation of Tragedy". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Dawson, Thomas (14 January 2005). "Movies - review - Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow (To Livadi Pou Dakryzei)". BBC Online. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  5. ^ a b 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. ^ Atkinson, Michael (6 September 2005). "The Weight of History Anchors an Earnest, Elliptical Odyssey". The Village Voice. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  9. ^ a b c "Theo Angelopoulos". The Daily Telegraph. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  10. ^ a b c d e 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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