Attilas '74

I am not a Greek or Turk, I am a person who loves movies, and I loved Attila 74. The style of documentary film-making is fascinating and real. The film is blunt, to the point and devastating. It feels like you are there in the midst of war, suffer and grieve with the locals, you feel for their loss and suffering. The film connects with you no matter what nationality you are. It is almost impossible to judge history, since there are two sides to each tale, but a documentary like Attila 74, helps understand what went on or what went wrong. I felt it is an honest witness to the horrible events that shook the peaceful population of this great Island. Bravo Mr. Cacoyannis not only for your wonderful film, but for the courage to go there and record history. I recommend this movie with all my heart.

As the great director Akira Kurosawa proved in "rashomon," there are many sides to one story. Sure this film by one of Greece's best directors ever has gripping moments, but the film is far from being objective. It should be noted that I am half-Turkish, but I still look forward to a well-balanced docu on the issues aflicting Cyprus. It is an issue everyone should exmaine, but I don't think this film does the job because of its' subjective stance.

Viewing this powerful documentary caused me great sorrow knowing the events that caused the innocent people of Cyprus such loss and anguish and continues to do so. Personally I feel shame as I was a marine stationed aboard a ship in the U.S. fleet that was involved in evacuating refugees (American and European) from Cyprus. Earlier our forces were involved in a NATO military exercise with the Turks that was the cover for there invasion of Cyprus just as a year earlier the joint U.S.-Chilean naval exercise was a cover for the overthrow of Allende. I feel shame for America and Britain (especially for being a guarantor of Cypriot sovereignty) to allow Turkey (that wants to annex Cyprus or parts of it) to invade and still occupy 4o% of a country and for its armed forces to massacre innocent people. Greater is the tragedy because many Turks have Greek blood in their veins, with Greek speaking lands being under Turkish (Seljuk or Ottoman) domination for centuries and its subject peoples converted to Islam for economic or spiritual reasons or being forced to for survival. It is tragic that the fate of smaller or less powerful countries and its peoples be used as pawns to appease the powers that be. Every nation and culture that has risen will also fall, nothing lasts forever and what you sow you will reap. Hopefully mankind will learn this message before it is too late.

The documentary is about the invasion of Cyprus in the year 1974 by Turkey. The film was made a year after the invasion and the impact of the war was still fresh. It presents an unbiased view, one that attempts to capture the precursors of the invasion, the impact of the invasion and its consequences. Some documentaries make you sleep with their hedonistic objectivity without ever immersing the viewer. If you like statistics and bar-charts look elsewhere. This film will make you feel as if you were there during the invasion. An excellent film by an excellent director.

A very powerful documentary, worth watching.

Michalis Kakogiannis is an excellent director and has directed well-known tragedies in world cinema such as Iphigenia, Electra and The Trojan Women.

"Attilas '74" unfortunately erases the tragedy that island went through and let some commentators (Turks) do not want to admit it, shows the sufferings that the Greek Cypriots have gone through such as poverty, refugee, famine, war and kill over 1000 with the invasion of Turkey in 1974 on the island that still shows that it came peacefully (propaganda).

The documentary is real and is a punch in the stomach.