Κώστας Μανδήλας

De 1939 à 1952, une troupe de comédiens sillonne les petites villes de Grèce pour donner des représentations. Lorsque la Seconde Guerre mondiale éclate, la comédie naïve qu’ils jouaient alors est vite remplacée par une tragédie. Malgré l’oppression politique et les drames qui se jouent entre les membres de la troupe, les comédiens continueront de jouer et de résister jusqu’au bout.

En 1976, six chasseurs grecs découvrent sous la neige le cadavre d’un partisan communiste datant de l’époque de la guerre civile. L'homme est mort depuis presque vingt ans, pourtant son corps est intact, comme si son décès était tout récent. Devant cette énigme, les chasseurs décident de ramener le cadavre dans leur hôtel. Au lieu d’appeler la police, ils se réunissent autour du mort et commencent à raconter leurs souvenirs de cette période noire de l’Histoire. Tous sont coupables de quelque chose.

A mysterious disappearance takes place during the shooting of a commercial on the beach in the early morning hours. An unknown man suddenly comes into the shot, then walks into the sea holding an umbrella and seizes to exist, before the bewildered eyes of the whole crew. After the police are notified, a confusing array of red tape manoeuvers begins, revealing the close affiliations of the Authorities with the advertising company manager and the whole mechanism of Mass Media, all of which are trying not to investigate the event but to conceal or even exploit it in their own interest. Only the musician involved in that commercial is trying to figure out what really happened.

A gifted electrician, Michalis Karamanos works for Greek Telecommunications Organization and it seems that he is the only one who hasn't been completely absorbed by the corrupt and all-devouring system. Acting as a member of the revolutionary organization Constitutional Struggle, which is fighting against the unpopular policy of the government, he connects the computer of the director of OTE to an explosive device. He threatens to destroy the telecommunications of the country if he is not allowed to broadcast on television his revolutionary message during the broadcast of an important football game. The Authorities, thinking that he has gone crazy, try to bring him around using his old friends from the army, whom they pick up one by one as intermediaries. This is a situation comedy with excellent, mature plot development, plenty of suspense as well as masterful criticism of sociopolitical reality.

A retired diplomat has begun writing a historical novel about the legendary Captain Meϊtanos, who lived in the 17th century. Initially, he was a klepht (bandit), then an armatolos (member of irregular forces), then a klepht again, until finally winding up in the Ottoman hangman’s noose. Captain Meϊtanos was described by monks who lived for many years after his death, recounting his activities and passing on his story. Memories are revived; snatches of a story and mystery emerge, such as that of a holy icon painted in 1715 by the iconographer Vaϊos – an icon which adds additional color and detail to this story.