User Reviews

This film seems to have unjustly attracted a lot of nonsensical comments, mostly from left of center commentators; and it's sadly revealing how the facts cited by other viewers are not even addressed, but simply ignored by the left-ist commentators. Those who accuse the film of being anti-communist propaganda mostly use ad hominem arguments, and insult and invective. But ask yourself: what good is a political view which assumes itself (because it is self-described as "revolutionary") to be above ordinary moral or political criticism? If that were true, then there could never be any way to judge the value of the actions performed in its name.

In short, this is a reasonably good film, with a fine performance by Kate Nelligan, and much less good work by other members of the cast. The direction is not inspired, and the flashback structure of the film seeks to maximize the emotional effects without stopping to consider just how powerful those effects are all by themselves, that is, the use of that structure betrays the fear of the film-makers that the story might not have the impact they wanted it to have.

The original book is stronger, but it too is flawed by Nicholas Gage's failure to ask himself about how it was that the communists picked on his mother, even though he presents some of the evidence that answers the question. It's clear from the book that some members of his family -- I think his grandfather, but it's been a long time since I read the book -- had serious disputes with other people in the village in the 20s and 30s and perhaps even earlier, and that there may even have been a murder involved; naturally, Gage is not all that clear on the point. The communists, men, most of them, couldn't go after the grandfather, so, brave souls that they were, went after the most vulnerable: the Gage womenfolk. Despicable, but that is often the tenor of village and peasant life.

And to me, this was the message of the book, that the politics of revolution were, in many cases, simply another weapon in the never-ending village war between its own members. The problem with the film is that it never really clarifies this central aspect of the drama, and so the power of Nelligan's performance is marooned. It affects, but it's almost in a vacuum, and Malkovich's portrayal of Gage, which I thought quite good, is similarly detached; but the flaw lay in the original book, which ducks important questions because Gage, North American that he is, simply doesn't understand the deeper currents of village life.

Worth a look, no matter its flaws. No work of art is ever perfect, and this one gets high marks for trying.

Great movie, with a good performance from Kate Nelligan. Cant believe all the people defending communist kidnappers and murderers, after all the years of Nazi murders, people actually defend thugs kidnapping children, murdering villagers who refused to agree with them, etc, etc, etc.... The Greek Civil War was nothing more than Stalin trying to add Greece to his list of appetizers along with Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, etc... Stealing children to take behind the iron curtain, executing parents who try to keep their own children, stealing houses, livestock and food crops to feed the murderers of their own people is not a good thing and this movie sends that message in spades. People are supposed to be happy about being out from under the fascist murderers and put under the domination of communist ones???????

This is another of those supposedly based-on-a-true story accounts, this one dealing with a man's (writer Nicholas Gage) quest to return to his native Greece and avenge his mother's death which occurred 30 years earlier.

This is not an uplifting story but it's not depressing, either.....but it is grim. It begins with the Grecian mother protecting her kids from the vicious Communisits of the late 1940s. The film switches back and forth from that period to modern-day but it's never disjointed. The acting by John Malkovich, Kate Nelligan and Linda Hunt is excellent and the scenery is pleasing and very little, if any, profanity if memory serves me. It's a decent film but not anything I'd watch more than once.

Stunning performances by Kate Nelligan and most of the cast in this powerful story, based on truth, help make this a must-see film.

I wonder if some of the reviewers, such as onceuponatime500, really saw the movie, or if they just wrote from some vicious and preconceived bias.

The communists come to the village to conscript -- kidnap -- children to become guerrilla fighters. The mother, Eleni, takes a drastic step, mutilating her oldest child to spare her from being shanghaied into the communist forces.

Being communists, they will not be thwarted, not by any such reactionary notions as self-ownership, or freedom, or parental rights, or any of that silly stuff: They take the next oldest girl instead.

Eleni loves her children and believes, foolishly according to onceuponatime500, but in line with what Charlie Anderson (James Stewart) in "Shenandoah" said: They're my children, not the state's, not some murderous movement's.

For years after seeing this powerful and haunting story, I could recall Nelligan's last scene and be moved to tears.

The agony Eleni went through was duplicated millions of times in the bloody 20th Century, as some government or another, or some tyrannical movement or another, kidnapped young people to force them to risk their lives for some cause most of them didn't understand, much less support.

Think Viet Cong, think Hitler's armies, think Stalin's and Mao's imperialist and aggressive armies, and, yes, think of the poor draftees from the United States.

Think, contrastingly, of parents, parents who spent years loving and caring for their children, hoping those children would be able to live to a better adulthood than their parents. Think of those parents seeing their children sometimes literally torn from their grasp, thrown into lines to be cannon fodder for cruel warlords -- communists, Nazis, imperialists of one kind or another, even when disguised as crusaders.

"Eleni" works at almost every level except for the incredibly horrible performance by John Malkovich.

If it hadn't been seen as anti-communist, even Hollywood would have honored "Eleni." But its being anti-communist made "Eleni" an outcast in that artistically and morally corrupted town. However, "Eleni" is powerful drama.

Added 25 November 2017: Watching "Eleni" on YouTube, I am wondering if my dislike of John Malkovich's performance is at least as much for how unpleasant he makes Nick Gage. As portrayed by Malkovich, Gage is rude, cold, aloof; he has no personality, doesn't respond to people, not even to his wife who asks questions. As performed by Malkovich, Gage's personality is enough to chase away a viewer.

We are now exactly 100 years after the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, an event that led to hundreds of millions of deaths, and destruction of entire nations, of entire peoples.

There is an irony in Nick Gage's working for The New York Times, which has been frequently pro-communist, and nearly always anti-anti- communist, with its Moscow correspondent Walter Duranty infamously painting a rosy picture of the Soviet Union during the time of the murderous monster Josef Stalin.

This century anniversary makes "Eleni" even more poignant and even more important.

I weep because my family is portrayed in this film. It reminds me of the pain they went through but refused to speak about. A story that received no fanfare but brought pain to many. I see through the eyes of the director and the words of Nick Gage what they went through. A beautiful, love letter to a strong mother.

As another reviewer wrote, this is a movie about a family, not about politics - even though it is terror that causes that family to be harmed.

As the mother, Kate Nelligan is absolutely superb, shining, wonderful. As the son as an adult, John Malkovich is curiously detached.

Again, although the movie was first rate, I question the decision to alternate time periods with a parallel narratives throughout. I think it lessens the impact. I see no reason the story couldn't be told chronologically, to greater effect.

Those two reviewers from Argentina and Greece who wrote that the movie was propaganda are being silly. Neither this movie nor anyone denies that the Communists (and those democrats defending the former king and government who had returned to power after the war - the king wishing to reign but not rule) fought the Nazis during the Second World War.

This movie does not take place during that war - and doesn't refer to it.

Further, when the Second World War ended, there WERE no native Greek fascists fighting in the Civil War - when a reviewer writes that this was a fascist war, it's crazy. In the movie, you hear the Communists using the term, "fascist" in the same loose propagandistic way that, say, Prime Minister Tony Blair is referred to as a fascist - falsely.

As the Soviet Union's proxies looked to be gaining in the Civil War, Britain asked the United States to participate in an effort to aid the Greek government with financial aid and weapons. over this and the Communist insurgency in turkey, was the Truman doctrine of containment of Communist totalitarianism born. These are simply facts.

Moreover, the fact that the Greek Communists took tens of thousands of children from their parents and shipped them off to Communists countries such as Albania and Czechoslovakia is obviously well-documented in the book and movie. However, as I wrote above, the movie simply looks at a human story of a mother and her love for her children.

Kate Nelligan makes the movie heartfelt, moving, powerful. She should have won the Oscar for this performance.

This movie vilified,mostly by Communists, because it exposes the Truth of how they were pensioned for their War Crimes, is also a deeply moving TRUE story about a mothers love and sacrifice, and a Son seeking Justice. It depicts the true collaboration of Communists, in the region, to take over Greece at the close of World War 2, rather than the propaganda that they fought the Nazis. In brutal detail New York Times writer Nicholas Cage exposes the 'good' life granted to these War Criminals, by the then 'Socialist' Government Years later when it came to power. He searches for the murderers, and when he finds them, his decision not to stoop to their level is powerful. Great Performances by John Malkovich as Nicholas Cage, and Kate Nelligan as Eleni.

I haven't seen the whole movie, only some parts. I must though make some observations. I think it would be too innocent for someone to believe that films, any kind of films - from "Judge Dredd" to "Bowling for Columbine"-,do not embrace certain ideas, do not have a very specific and clear ideology. Ihave read the comments on this movie and to be honest I am a bit annoyed by some of these which happen to be a part of my country;s history. It is never easy to view things in a civil war, it is very clear though that in the Greek civil war(1945-1949)there were two sides; there was the former government, which during the triple occupation(German, Italian and Bulgarian)was "absent" in Cairo (just to note that the former government handed over those communists who were then in exile to the Nazis) and there was the people,who were starving to death, who were tortured, who were sent to concentration camps or to factories in Germany to work. The two sides are very distinct and so were the interests each side served. When Greece was liberated by the Germans, the former government came back to claim the power. the people fought against them, not just the communists, for they wanted a free country, where the people would be the one to decide for its fate and not some so-called allied forces!if it hadn't been for the English and the American, Greece would have been a totally different country. Let me just say that thanks to the American and English intervention the first Napalm bombs were first tested here, in Greece, against the Communists and those who fought for dignity and for an independent nation. Now concerning the film, when these "allied forces" are described as liberators and when the communists are described as the biggest threat in human history, I am sorry to disappoint some of you but this is a clear political view!!And I am also sorry to disappoint some of you but since we live in capitalism(don't be afraid to use the word!), which is an economical and political system, we shouldn't believe that art, culture, our everyday habits are not a reflection of this particular system. Besides every system tries to protect itself! Finally, I would like to add that I do like films and I do like art, but I don't like to be manipulated in a way that my personal judgment is put aside. PS one last observation concerning history facts and propaganda: in "La vita e Bella" starring Roberto Benini, the last scene shows American troops liberating the prisoners of the concentration camp in Poland!well, I guess 20.000.000 Russian killed in the second world war would be quite surprised, if not anything else.

An excellent film, especially for history buffs. I suggest that anyone who has seen this film should also read the book. As a former leftist, this movie hits home regarding the lies and distortions that communists use to perpetuate their evil and inhuman ideology. As an American of Greek descent, I am familiar with many of the traditions and customs shown in the film. The village life shown caused me to recall stories that my mother told me, and the closeness of the family in Greek culture shown by the protagonist's relentless search for his mother's killers is another accurate portrayal. The starvation and suffering of poor Greeks during WWII made them easy prey for communist ideology, which, thank God, did not succeed in 1945-1949, and thanks to works like this film, will never succeed.

Powerful performances all around in this tale of a family's struggle to escape the Greek Civil War after World War II. Based on a true story, and with a powerful performance by Kate Nelligan as the title character. John Malkovich does not disappoint as her son who seeks to avenge his mother's execution. Oscar winner Linda Hunt also gives a fine supporting performance. A gripping, suspenseful mystery!

Other people commenting on this film complain about its being mere propaganda against communism and supporting fascism. What a lot of baloney. It's about mothers and children, and about how, no matter what kind of brawl is going on, the men run to the hills, leaving the women and children behind to be brutalized. And it's about how one woman lost her life because she refused to give her children up to the state, no matter who that state was.

...50 years after the end of Greek civil war which have cost much more lives than the WWII (most of them leftish people), a Greek-American boy which became a man (?) adds his punchline to the right-wing everlasting propaganda. A successful film of a successful book, which only place should be the trash-bin along with other propaganda products of the cold war. An utter insult to the thousands men and women Greek partisans who fought against the Nazis and for our freedom, and -unfortunately- lost...

This unbelievably reactionary piece of garbage actually glorifies a traitor to the Greek people who supported the fascists in the Civil War. The mother who is the supposed "hero" even purposefully maims her daughter at one point to prevent her from fighting on the side of the freedom fighters! (I'm not kidding! This is portrayed as "positive"! What will they do for a sequel: do a film glorifying child abusers in general?) The protagonist in the film stalks a former leader in the resistance in Greece and carries a gun with him intending to kill him. This unbelievable concoction of lies and nonsense is shameful and there is nothing that can be said that is bad enough about the film and the people who made it. Showing it comes awfully close to being a hate crime, in my opinion. ZERO STARS

I don't generally award 10 stars. But this true account of a mother's struggle in post-war Greece has haunted me for over twenty years. Since becoming a parent myself, I have often thought of her great sacrifice. It is a great mystery to me why this fantastic film has virtually disappeared from circulation. It's one of the most perfectly realized films you'll come across. The acting, direction, and photography are superb. It's worth owning just for Bruce Smeaton's brilliantly unique musical score. I've tried, without success, to find Greek music in a similar vein. Much of the opposition to the film in 1985 came from critics who insinuated an anti-Marxist political bias. They missed the point. The film depicts the story of a mother removed from the political machinations that are grinding around her. Eleni wasn't a reactionary, she was a loving mother. Unless film buffs rediscover "Eleni" the Hollywood Left will have buried a beautiful gem, which conflicts with their accepted version of history. Goodnight and good luck.

This is not a comment to the movie itself. The bits I have seen show at least an accurate portrayal of rural Greece in the late 40's along with the political "turmoil" of the time. Acting was above average in general, although some members of the cast, notably Malkovich, could have done a slightly better job.

So, is this propaganda? Of course it is BUT with more grains of truth than your average propaganda film, especially an American made. Yes, Mr Gatzoyannis (unless he is ashamed to use his real family name and resorts to "Gage") had lost his mother during the civil war. He is supposed to be one-sided, who wouldn't? He wrote a book about it, good for him. Someone made a film based on it, good for them. And now, many of us are bickering about what it is, propaganda or not, who are the good and who are the bad ones and so on...

A commentator before said that war is the end of civilization. True! A civil war though makes an "ordinary" war look quite civilized and "noble". Americans surely have their experience, they have gone through a terrible civil war. We, Greeks, have our experience which, sadly, is more "fresh" - lots of people that lived through it are still around to talk about it. Kids being taken from their mothers' arms to be transported..where? Brother killing brother (literally!) and generally bringing down whatever was once dear. Who's the bad guy? Which brother gets moral high ground? The one who took to mountains, kidnapped young ones to put them through a grim life behind the Iron Curtain, laid waste to his land and his home? Or the other, who after suffering all that, imprisoned those left behind (the majority of which were not part of the armed struggle and suffered along too), exiled them to desolate barren islands (there are more than we need of those in the Aegean), made them "dance" with cats in a sack (interesting how democracy, or "democracy", can be as horrendous as communism or any other totalitarian regime) and generally held them at the "border" of society until 1974. Who gets praise and who gets blame? You don't know? I think you do!

History was always written by victors, this is no exception. What is an exception in this case is that this particular "victor" (Gage) abstained his country's drama until it "suited" him to be a part of it. Having lost a loved one, a parent, in war is no unique to him, millions of people did! Did he live the ongoing "plague" that the civil war was? From the comfort of his house, half a world away. It is almost as if I, who have never been to the US, write a book about the drama of the Indians. Whatever moral high ground he possessed he lessened being that "distanced" from the whole scenery of it and its consequences. In short, this book and film portray HIS side, not his ideology's side but his personal side. It is easy to place blame, very hard to do so for one side only!

I will not go into the politics of that period, that is for another place and another time. Decent film, worth a viewing if not for anything else for an accurate portrayal of the "scenery". No stars awarded as I have not seen it all, just bits and pieces.

Does it really writes 28,000 Greek children or my eyes are lying me?? The majority of the children were not of Greek origin! Majority of those children and their descendants live now in Poland, Australia, Canada, ex Yugoslavia etc. and declare themselves as Macedonians. I heard their stories many times because my grandparents are one of them! They never said that were kidnapped by communists! I found it very disturbing to call them Greeks because they never felt Greeks! Children were forced to leave their homes because of Greek fascist regime... those children and we, descendants of them declare themselves only as Macedonians and not Greeks. We also speak dopika...from where did dopika come and how we learned it if not from our grandparents? Dopika is not a Greek language btw... This movie is a poor propaganda. Those people are alive, do not insult them with saying they are Greeks....

I'm well aware that the word "powerful" has been used to describe "Eleni" innumerable times...yet it seems the closest word to describe the indescribable. Based on a true story and historical events (namely the civil war in Greece), the film captures a family's struggle in the harsh realities of war, communism and inhumanity...at the hands of people who are the closest to us. Eleni not only delves into the lives of Greek peasants, but attempts to give us a glimpse into their personal background and even mindset as to why they let certain events unfold. Certain actions and decisions that normal, rational people born outside of Greek culture would think impossible or inhumane begin to make sense, and while most viewers will never agree to what is happening, they can at least sympathize. This well-written story is spectacularly filmed (in Spain) and with an incredible musical score-- Eleni is one of the most underrated films of its genre, on par with Dr Zhivago. Unfortunately, the character of Nick is played by John Malcovich...who is grievously miscast for this role (in hindsight it may have been solely to get at least a known Hollywood name attached to the project) and his monotone, lifeless style comes off as neither Greek nor appropriate for such an emotional story-- Linda Hunt, by contrast is amazing. Eleni should absolutely be in the repertoire of any film enthusiast.

It is clear from some of the more glowing reviews that this film tends to be judged by its value as a true story, and I will take the same approach.

Zero stars. Anyone who knows anything about the Greece of the 40s can recognise Gage's book about his mother for the cynical money spinner that it is. The film dishes up the same claptrap.

The much-maligned ELAS was the only effective resistance organisation in Greece. It was loved and supported by the majority of Greeks, due to its commitment to the fight against fascism, its strict discipline and its respect for the rights and needs of the Greek people. Its founder Ares Velouchiotis became a legend in his own time, a byword for military genius, toughness and fairness, with numerous songs composed about him even before his death.

After the British handed Greece over to the collaborators, the criminal classes and the pusillanimous, civil war was inevitable. Eventually Greek children were moved across the border to escape the napalm that was being dropped on them by America, but with parental approval. As Gage concedes, Eleni was executed by ELAS for treachery, and her name is still hated in her village today.

It's amazing man's capacity to inflict harm upon each other for any whimsical reason just so long as you give it a noble title like war or freedom. During the Greek Civil War the Communist Party was fighting for the people's freedom. That freedom paradoxically took the form of oppression and repression. The Greek Civil War was yet another war in the history of wars and as always, the people paid the price. Those with the lofty titles and ideals remain unscathed while the rank and file pay mightily.

Eleni "Americana" Katsianas (sp?) (Kate Nelligan) was one of the rank and file that paid mightily and her son, Nikola (John Malkovich), sought to find the truth of her death some 30 years later. He was driven to know what happened to his mother after she helped him escape.

The overriding story was a Greek Civil War, but the more focused message was what a mother would do to protect her children. Eleni put it succinctly when she said, "They took our food. They took our home. They took my dignity. And I gave it, I gave it at every turn, but I will not give them my children." And she made the ultimate sacrifice for her children. She gave her life so that they wouldn't be forced to fight for "the people."

Director Peter Yates used a format of skipping back and forth between present day and 30 years ago to paint us a picture. Through that we saw Nikola's motivation for finding and possibly punishing the men that executed his mother. Nikola was no vigilante, in fact he was the Bureau Chief for the New York Times, but who knows what animus he had towards the fiends who killed his mother.

"Eleni" tears the heart to shreds and Kate Nelligan was the sharp instrument that did the shredding. She tapped into the soul of her character. She breathed fire into the character Eleni and brought her to life. Oh, why are some the most powerful moments also the saddest?

I think this movie has been underrated, for some disappointing reasons. Very few people criticize Kate Nelligan's fine performance; but they overlook the performances of Linda Hunt and the actor who played the local Communist leader who was ultimately spared by Nicholas Gage (I don't know his name, but I thought the casting was quite deft). For the most part, though, it was John Malkovich's performance that has been so grossly misunderstood. People hadn't seen enough of his work in 1985 when the movie came out. But now, after "Places in the Heart," "The Killing Fields," and numerous other films, we should be able to appreciate what he can do with a part.

Another distressing aspect of the critical comments is the fact that the political left prefers to focus on political background as the major point in their evaluation. To toss out any political reference to the actual situation in Greece in the late 1940's is nothing more than turning the very valid allegations of Communist mischief in that time into an argument for their side--something that the radical left has always been able to do quite adroitly for some time.

In the early '80's many of those kidnapped children had grown up and returned to Greece--as agents provocateurs. They were so successful that their efforts had a potent effect on Greek politics for years. It is a fact that in that time the Soviets shot down a Korean airliner that had drifted off course over the Sea of Japan. Everyone aboard was killed. And the Premier of Greece, with no evidence to support his conclusion whatsoever, said publicly that the plane was probably on a spy mission for the CIA. He, of course, was playing to the powerful leftist political sentiment in his own country at the time. A page of history is truly worth a volume of logic sometimes.

The movie really belongs to the trash bin-same as the book. Good old American propaganda. As for those who are not Greeks but know exactly what happened in that war I really doubt that they do. The term "fascist" is commonly used in Greece for all right-wing people, even "mild" right-wing people, if such a thing exists. Does that ring any bells to you? It is really worth spending some time studying about the civil war in Greece(1945-1949). It really is the epitomy of US (and British) involvement in the internal affairs of every country and if you change the names and dates it can be just as good for Spain, Korea, El salvador, Colombia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Cuba, Vietnam, Somalia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq etc etc (the list is infinite) The epitomy of foreign US policy itself!

Being evil is easy. Being good is tough. Choose your path or be a zero!