O Anthropos Me To Garifallo (1980)

Genres - Drama  |   Run Time - 120 min.  |   Countries - Greece  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Robert Firsching

When the right-wing took control of Greece following the civil war, many injustices were carried out upon the populace which were only later brought to light and, sadly, most of these injustices were at the behest of the United States government. Writer/director Nikos Tzimas brilliantly chronicles one such incident in this powerful film concerning the career, arrest, and subsequent execution of popular left-wing resistance leader Nikos Beloyiannis (Phoebus Gikopoulos). Beloyiannis gained a large following for his campaign against the oppression of the people as well as his opposition to the parceling off of Greek land to foreign interests (mainly American). In response to his activities, the ruling party in charge of Greece, with the full support of its United States backers, accused Beloyiannis of treason, took him into custody for a trial with a predetermined outcome, and summarily put him to death for allegedly fomenting insurrection among a primarily illiterate populace who -- at the time -- would have been largely unaware of the government's pernicious activities without Beloyiannis' presence. A first-rate and sadly neglected depiction of a forgotten chapter of imperialist history, O Anthropos Me to Garifallo is a moving and important piece of filmmaking with a terrific cast of Greek film veterans including Alekos Alexandrakis, Petros Fyssoun, Anestis Vlachos, Stefanos Stratigos, and Manos Katrakis.