''God Loves Caviar'' ( el, Ο Θεός αγαπάει το χαβιάρι, translit. O Theós agapáei to chaviári; in Russia known as Pirates of the Aegean Sea) is a 2012 Russian-Greek

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Yannis Smaragdis Yannis Smaragdis ( el, Γιάννης Σμαραγδής) is a Greek film director. Biography He was born in Crete in 1946 and studied film in Greece and Paris, France. He appeared in 1972 with his short film ''Two Three Things...'' which receive ...

Plot

The film is based upon the true story of

Ioannis Varvakis Ioannis Varvakis ( el, Ιωάννης Βαρβάκης; 1745–1825), also known as Ivan Andreevich Varvatsi (russian: Иван Андреевич Варваци), was a Greek privateer, benefactor, and member of the Filiki Eteria. Origins, early ...

, a Greek

caviar Caviar (also known as caviare; from fa, خاویار, khâvyâr, egg-bearing) is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or a spread. Traditionally, the te ...

merchant and eventual benefactor from

Psara Psara ( el, Ψαρά, , ; known in ancient times as /, /) is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. Together with the small island of Antipsara (Population 4) it forms the municipality of Psara. It is part of the Chios regional unit, which is part of ...

who was formerly a pirate. He was born in

, and from an early age he learned to navigate the seas, an occupation revered and steeped in tradition on the island where he grew up. At the age of 17 he built his own ship, which he would later offer to the

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

during the Orlov Revolt. Ultimately, his ship was destroyed, and he turned to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

to ask for an audience with Catherine the Great. He was given compensation for the loss of his ship and granted authorization to fish freely in the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

. Due to his superb navigational skills and excellent seamanship abilities, he dominated the

and soon became substantially wealthy. When he initially discovered the superior

of the Beluga Sturgeon, he quickly realized that there could be an incredible market trading for this product. From the

trade he eventually became a millionaire and later donated part of his fortune for important works that improved the life of Russians and Greeks on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

coasts. In his later years, he became a member of the

Filiki Eteria Filiki Eteria or Society of Friends ( el, Φιλικὴ Ἑταιρεία ''or'' ) was a secret organization founded in 1814 in Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow the Ottoman rule of Greece and establish an independent Greek state. (''ret ...

, which would contribute to the overthrow of the Ottoman rule of Greece. He died in 1825 in

Zante Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; el, Ζάκυνθος, Zákynthos ; it, Zacinto ) or Zante (, , ; el, Τζάντε, Tzánte ; from the Venetian form) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Za ...

, during the Greek War of Independence. After his death, his entire estate went to the Ioannis Varvakis Foundation which would offer up important grants throughout Greece. The script follows the entire life of Varvakis, but the film's narration begins with his final moments in Zante.

Cast

Sebastian Koch Sebastian Koch (born 31 May 1962) is a German television and film actor. He is known for roles in the 2007 Academy Award-winning film ''The Lives of Others'', in Steven Spielberg's '' Bridge of Spies'', and as Otto Düring in the fifth season of ...

Yevgeny Stychkin Yevgeny Alekseevich Stychkin (russian: Евге́ний Алексе́евич Сты́чкин; born 10 June 1974) is a Russian actor and director known for his roles in '' God Loves Caviar'' and ''Trotsky''. Biography Yevgeny Stychkin was born ...

as Ivan *

Juan Diego Botto Juan Diego Botto Rota (born 29 August 1975) is an Argentine-Spanish film, stage and television actor. Born in Argentina, he moved to Spain together with his mother (the actress and acting coach Cristina Rota) in 1978. Following early film appe ...

as Alexios Lefentarios *

Olga Sutulova Olga Aleksandrovna Sutulova (russian: О́льга Алекса́ндровна Суту́лова; born 4 May 1980) is a Russian theater and film actress. Biography Olga Sutulova was born in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Saint Pe ...

as Helena Romachoff * John Cleese as McCormick *

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...

as Empress Catherine II of Russia * Akis Sakellariou as Kimon *

Nick Ashdon Nick may refer to: * Nick (given name) * A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat * British slang for being arrested * British slang for a police station * British slang for stealing * Short for nickname Pla ...

as British Ambassador * Marisha Triantafyllidou as Maria Varvakis * Alexandra Sakelaropoulou as Varvakis' Mother * Fotini Baxevani as Ludmilla * Christoforos Papakaliatis as Grigori Potemkin *

Lakis Lazopoulos Lakis Lazopoulos ( el, Λάκης Λαζόπουλος) is a Greek playwright, actor, comedian, script writer, producer, tv presenter, writer, columnist, songwriter and performer. He was ranked 83rd by the public in Skai TV's '' Great Greeks'' ...

as Fisherman of God * Irene Balta as Varvakis' Wife * Pavlos Kontoyannidis as Shipbuilder * Alexandros Mylonas as Temporary Prime Minister * Yannis Vouros as Businessman A * Manos Vakousis as Businessman B * Giorgos Ktenavos as Andreas Varvakis * Kris Radanov as Alexei Orlov * Giorgos Kotanidis as

Theodoros Kolokotronis Theodoros Kolokotronis ( el, Θεόδωρος Κολοκοτρώνης; 3 April 1770 – 4 February 1843) was a Greek general and the pre-eminent leader of the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829) against the Ottoman Empire. Kolokotronis's g ...

Reception

The film was one of the official selections that debuted in 2012 Toronto Film Festival. In 2013 the film was the highest-grossing film in Greece.

References

External links

* *
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:God Loves Caviar 2012 films 2012 drama films 2010s adventure drama films 2010s English-language films English-language Greek films English-language Russian films Films set in 1825 Russian adventure drama films Greek biographical films Greek adventure drama films Greek multilingual films 2010s Greek-language films Pirate films Films shot in Crete 2010s Greek films