Broad themes such as loss, war, integrity, and honor loom large throughout the story and help the film to be very relatable despite any unfamiliarity one might have with the Greek civil war. As Nick learns more information, we are able to see the events as they happened in the past until the past events are brought to light as a result of Nick’s investigation.Īlso featuring Linda Hunt ( Kindergarten Cop, The Year of Living Dangerously), Eleni covers a topic that very few audiences will know much about, but will be made to care through the strong performances of its cast. Haunted by his past, and the loss of his mother, Nick, uses his position to begin an investigation into the murder of his mother. The second is of a grown-up Nicola (John Malkovich) who, while working for the New York Times, secures a promotion where he will be stationed back in Greece. When the communist sweep into her town and begin ruling with an iron fist, Eleni works to get her children free from their grasp. While their escape means that they will be able to head for America and get away from the violence, it is for Eleni, an act that will find her imprisoned, tortured, and executed.Įleni covers this story with two dove-tailing narratives. Eleni proves to be a strong woman physically, working any job for her family, as well as emotionally, as she seeks to provide for her family on her own. Her husband has moved to America and is trying to raise enough money there in order to send for his family. She has a son named Nicola, as well as three daughters.

The film boasts the cinematography of Billy Williams who was responsible for the cinematography in the award-winning film Gandhi, and who provides on-location shots in Eleni to highlight the beautiful country of Greece against an ugly backdrop of war.īased on a true story, Eleni chronicles the tale of a young mother named Eleni (Kate Nelligan) who is trying to hold her family together in 1948 as Greece descends into a civil war between those loyal to the Grecian leaders and those embracing the new tide of communism that was sweeping across Europe following World War II. Kino Lorber has recently remastered it into high definition and is releasing the blu-ray version of the film. Peter Yates, known for such films such as Robbery and Bullitt, directed a relatively unknown film in 1985 named Eleni. Released August 16, 2016/Kino Lorber Studio Classics

Eleni nicholas cage