''Eleni'' is the 1985 film adaptation of the memoir ''Eleni'' by Greek-American journalist

Nicholas Gage Nicholas Gage (born Nikolaos Gatzoyiannis; el, Νικόλαος Γκατζογιάννης; July 23, 1939) is a Greek-born American author and investigative journalist. Early life Nicholas Gage (original name, Nikos Gatzoyiannis) was born in ...

. Directed by

Peter Yates Peter James Yates (24 July 1929 – 9 January 2011) was an English film director and producer. Biography Early life Yates was born in Aldershot, Hampshire. The son of an army officer, he attended Charterhouse School as a boy, graduated from ...

with a screenplay by Steve Tesich, the film stars

John Malkovich John Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Aw ...

, Kate Nelligan, Linda Hunt and

Glenne Headly Glenne Aimee Headly (March 13, 1955 – June 8, 2017) was an American actress. She was widely known for her roles in '' Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'', ''Dick Tracy'', and '' Mr. Holland's Opus''. Headly received a Theatre World Award and four Joseph ...

Plot

The film is told in a flashback format with Gage, now living in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, returning to his native

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

to solve the mystery of his mother's death when he was a child. The film looks back to the effect of the 1940s

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος}, ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom and ...

in Lia – the remote Greek village of Gage's upbringing in the northwestern Greek region of

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

; and in particular, the murder of his mother by

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

guerrillas of the Democratic Army of Greece (ΔΣΕ).

Cast

* Kate Nelligan as Eleni Gatzoyiannis *

* Linda Hunt as Katina * Oliver Cotton as Katis * Ronald Pickup as Spiro Skevis *

Rosalie Crutchley Rosalie Sylvia Crutchley (4 January 1920 – 28 July 1997) was a British actress. Trained at the Royal Academy of Music, Crutchley was perhaps best known for her television performances, but had a long and successful career in theatre and films, ...

as Grandmother *

as Joan Gage * Dimitra Arliss as Ana

References

External links

* * * * 1985 films American political drama films American war drama films Films based on non-fiction books Films directed by Peter Yates Films set in Epirus Films set in Greece Films shot in Greece Films set in the United States Films shot in the United States Films set in the 1940s Films set in the 1980s Warner Bros. films 1980s political drama films CBS Theatrical Films films Films scored by Bruce Smeaton 1980s war drama films 1985 drama films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films {{1980s-drama-film-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links