This film is visually a masterpiece. The same thing can also be told for its haunting music. Sadly, these two elements are hardly enough to make this war drama a memorable film.
Politically speaking, Voulgaris tries his best to overcome his leftist biases and take an objective outlook of the civil war that devastated Greece from 1946 to 1949. His effort, however, falls rather short and the reason for that is not so much his implicit sympathy towards the Left as his exaggerated enthusiasm to maintain an equal distance between the two camps. There are times that Voulgaris becomes so keen on being objective that he actually neglects some other basic elements of the film, such as plot, character development and dramatic conflict (not to speak of historical accuracy or authenticity). Of course, when you make a film of this nature, the last thing you want is to be accused of trying to manipulate the audience. However, telling the viewer at every step of the way "I'm not taking sides, I'm not manipulating you" is also a sort of manipulation and it ultimately kills the dramatic tension on which this picture hugely depends.
History and politics, however, are not the main flaws of the film. In my humble opinion, the reason why this picture fails to make an impression is rather an artistic one. First of all, the characters come across really shallow. No real depth to make us empathize with their cruel destiny. Wooden and non-realistic dialogues play also an essential part in creating a huge distance between us, the viewers, and the dramatic action that takes place in the film. Furthermore, there are problems with the script and the contrived storytelling. The story is mainly based on the "brother against brother" cliche. This is not necessarily a flaw. In fact, it starts as one of the film's strongest points. It's a pity that, as the story progresses, the film doesn't seem to know how to handle it, in order to explore its full dramatic potential. This is also the case with most of the film's themes. They are executed in such a rushed and heavy-handed manner that the viewer ultimately loses all interest in the story. As for the sound and the visuals, they are both of the highest quality. Nevertheless, good photography and music cannot always make up for weak storytelling, especially when we are talking about a war drama.
With these in mind, is no real wonder why the film was reproached by many with being melodramatic. With no solid characters, uninteresting sequences (with a few exceptions) and a rather weak script, a melodrama is all you get in the end.
However, one should not forget that the Greek Civil War is something that still stirs up painful memories in Greek society and trying to make a film about it, takes undoubtedly a certain degree of courage. Voulgaris took a risk where others wouldn't and that does him credit. But, for better or for worse, not all risks pay off.
