Astrapoyiannos (1970)

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Synopsis by Robert Firsching

Deeply rooted in local concerns of the time, this heroic drama from Greek filmmaker Nikos Tzimas is unlikely to convert many casual viewers, depending as it does on a certain familiarity with the background germane to its subject matter. It's still a rousing tale, with Nikos Kourkoulos as Astrapoyiannos, one of the so-called "armatolos" charged with the security of a specific area by the Turkish Aga. Astropoyiannos can't bring himself to work for the Turks, so he takes to the mountains and becoming one of the rebellious klephtis who fight against them. After his village is liberated from Turkish occupation, Astrapoyiannos returns home, only to find that the local Greek land baron (Yiannis Argyris) has begun oppressing the people just as badly as his Turkish predecessors. That's when the film turns into a strange amalgam of foustanella and spaghetti western as Astropoyiannos, now an outcast three times over, saves the people from the greedy and evil tyrant. It probably won't make much sense to non-Greek viewers, but is enthusiastically mounted and contains a familiar supporting cast including Niki Triantafyllidi, Eleni Zafiriou, and the omnipresent Lavrentis Dianellos.