I am grateful to the person who uploaded this wonderful film to YouTube. I watched it a couple of nights ago after it appeared in the Recommendations section.
This atmospheric, beautifully shot film opens with a badly injured man on horseback fleeing for his life. We learn from the film's prologue that we are in Ottoman ruled Greece in 1654. The unnamed man is a Janissary, a Greek Orthodox Christian child abducted by the Ottomans to fight in their Muslim army.
The Janissary and his horse collapse from exhaustion outside a Convent where they are found by the nuns. Fearful of the man, they chain him up and attend to his wounds. They also dispose of the man's dead horse.
The Mother Superior is very protective of a young nun named Anthi and does not want her to assist with caring for the Janissary. Pelagia, a nun with medical experience treats him but allows Anthi to sit with the man whenever she needs to take a break.
It is clear that the quiet, shy Anthi is fascinated by the man and he seems to understand her innocence and fragility. He doesn't try to frighten her but he does ask her to help him escape. In the meantime, Pelagia has a sexual encounter with the Janissary.
Anthi does eventually release the man and they both escape into a seemingly enchanted forest. Unlike his tryst with Pelagia, there is a deeper emotional connection between the man and Anthi. This eventually leads to a physical encounter which reveals Anthi to be a young man. The Mother Superior was the only person who knew Anthi's secret.
Initially angry and repulsed by Anthi, the man develops a protective attitude towards her and realises that she was being protected by the Convent to prevent her abduction by the Ottomans. Anthi tells the man that she wants to be different and he tries to help her. Not long after this, they are both captured by Ottoman soldiers. The Convent pay the soldiers a ransom for Anthi's return but the Janissary is held captive by the Ottomans. We learn that the Janissary is a deserter from the Ottoman army. His captors tell him he is one of their best soldiers and they want him back. While he is held captive, he continues to think about his encounter with Anthi.
Anthi manages to sneak out of the Convent and helps the man to kill his captors. Once again they escape to the forest and, for what is very probably the first time for both of them, they give in to their true nature. Initially brutal, it becomes a beautiful and powerful expression of love, longing and release.
This film was an unexpected treat. Wonderful performances, sympathetic direction and stunning cinematography. The chemistry between the two leads is magnetic. However, Anthi was actually played by a woman rather than a man. I wonder if the chemistry/intimacy would have differed in any way had the two lead actors both been men rather than a man and a woman.
This atmospheric, beautifully shot film opens with a badly injured man on horseback fleeing for his life. We learn from the film's prologue that we are in Ottoman ruled Greece in 1654. The unnamed man is a Janissary, a Greek Orthodox Christian child abducted by the Ottomans to fight in their Muslim army.
The Janissary and his horse collapse from exhaustion outside a Convent where they are found by the nuns. Fearful of the man, they chain him up and attend to his wounds. They also dispose of the man's dead horse.
The Mother Superior is very protective of a young nun named Anthi and does not want her to assist with caring for the Janissary. Pelagia, a nun with medical experience treats him but allows Anthi to sit with the man whenever she needs to take a break.
It is clear that the quiet, shy Anthi is fascinated by the man and he seems to understand her innocence and fragility. He doesn't try to frighten her but he does ask her to help him escape. In the meantime, Pelagia has a sexual encounter with the Janissary.
Anthi does eventually release the man and they both escape into a seemingly enchanted forest. Unlike his tryst with Pelagia, there is a deeper emotional connection between the man and Anthi. This eventually leads to a physical encounter which reveals Anthi to be a young man. The Mother Superior was the only person who knew Anthi's secret.
Initially angry and repulsed by Anthi, the man develops a protective attitude towards her and realises that she was being protected by the Convent to prevent her abduction by the Ottomans. Anthi tells the man that she wants to be different and he tries to help her. Not long after this, they are both captured by Ottoman soldiers. The Convent pay the soldiers a ransom for Anthi's return but the Janissary is held captive by the Ottomans. We learn that the Janissary is a deserter from the Ottoman army. His captors tell him he is one of their best soldiers and they want him back. While he is held captive, he continues to think about his encounter with Anthi.
Anthi manages to sneak out of the Convent and helps the man to kill his captors. Once again they escape to the forest and, for what is very probably the first time for both of them, they give in to their true nature. Initially brutal, it becomes a beautiful and powerful expression of love, longing and release.
This film was an unexpected treat. Wonderful performances, sympathetic direction and stunning cinematography. The chemistry between the two leads is magnetic. However, Anthi was actually played by a woman rather than a man. I wonder if the chemistry/intimacy would have differed in any way had the two lead actors both been men rather than a man and a woman.