BLOOD ON THE LAND “ To homa vaftike kokkino” ( original title)- Greece 1966 Director: Vasilis Georgiadis Writer: Nikos Foskolos Stars: Nikos Kourkoulos, Mairi Hronopoulou, Yiannis Voglis

In Greece, in the early part of the 20th century, two brothers from a wealthy landowning family have opposite views on how the poor workers, who work on their land, should be treated. This film depicts the hard and unbearable life of the poor land workers in Thessalia, Greece at the beginning of the 20th century. Few landlords controlled most of the land and therefore controlled the lives of the poor. The main character, son of an important and respected landlord, tries to improve the living conditions of the land workers, but his older brother strongly rejects such ideas. It is important to notice that the film does not support any political ideas but strongly highlights the ideals of justice and solidarity. Definitely one of the best Greek films.

Vasilis Georgiadis was lucky enough to have a great script in his hand and a terrific cast to match it. We mostly liked the four protagonists: Nikos Kourkoulos as the rebellious son who's not afraid to stand up against his family, Yiannis Voglis as his violent, tough brother, Manos Katrakis as their wise but stubborn father and Mary Chronopoulou as Irene, a true feminist of the beginning of the 20th century. Also, notice Notis Peryialis, the actor who plays the part of the only character of the story who really existed: Marinos Antypas, the great hero who was murdered because of his fight for human working conditions and justice. The film was nominated for the Oscar of the Best Foreign movie in It's a pity it didn't win it...

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