El Greco (2007 Film)
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''El Greco'' is a Greek
biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...
about the life of the
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
of the
Spanish Renaissance The Spanish Renaissance was a movement in Spain, emerging from the Italian Renaissance in Italy during the 14th century, that spread to Spain during the 15th and 16th centuries. This new focus in art, literature, Quotation, quotes and scienc ...
, Domenicos Theotokopoulos, known worldwide as
El Greco Doménikos Theotokópoulos (, ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco (; "The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance, regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. ...
. Based on the fictionalised biographical novel, ''El Greco: o Zografos tou Theou'' (''El Greco: the Painter of God''), by Dimitris Siatopoulos, it was released in 2007, directed by Yannis Smaragdis and written by Jackie Pavlenko. The main cast features prominent contemporary Greek actors like Lakis Lazopoulos, Dimitra Matsouka and Dina Konsta, and includes popular actors of the Greek cinema of the 1960s such as Sotiris Moustakas and Katerina Helmi, who, along with
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 ...
, Laia Marull and others, surround the leading actor, Nick Ashdon, who portrays El Greco.


Plot

The film tells a fictitious story of Domenicos Theotokopoulos, better known as
El Greco Doménikos Theotokópoulos (, ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco (; "The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance, regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. ...
, a great
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
artist of the 16th century with an uncompromising character, who sets off from his homeland
Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
and goes to
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
and finally Toledo, in search of freedom and love. There he is confronted by his greatest adversary, the
Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition () was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile and lasted until 1834. It began toward the end of ...
, but his creative consciousness and power make him stand out and overcome barbarity and ignorance. Being imprisoned and awaiting execution by the Spanish Inquisition, Domenicos (Nick Ashdon) writes out his story, thus parts of his life play out in extended flashbacks. Born on the island of Crete, which was at the time part of the
Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
, he falls in love with Francesca (Dimitra Matsouka), daughter of the Venetian governor of Crete. But his father is preparing a political rebellion and as a result Domenicos leaves the island and moves to Venice, away from the young woman. There he meets the famous painter
Titian Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. Ti ...
( Sotiris Moustakas) and the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
priest Fernando Niño de Guevara (
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 ...
). Guevara immediately shows a confused interest in Domenicos, and, when roiled by the Greek - and fighting personal demons - calls Domenicos before the Inquisition where he must defend himself against charges of
heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...
. It must be emphasized that the entire story is fictional, El Greco was never prosecuted by the Inquisition, but got well paid assignments from high-rank Inquisition leaders, like Fernando Niño de Guevara, Grand Inquisitor of Spain from 1600 to 1602.


Cast

* Nick Ashdon as
El Greco Doménikos Theotokópoulos (, ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco (; "The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance, regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. ...
*
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 Fernando Niño de Guevara * Laia Marull as Jeronima de las Cuevas * Lakis Lazopoulos as Nicolos * Dimitra Matsouka as Francesca * † Sotiris Moustakas as
Titian Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. Ti ...
*
Dina Konsta DINA may refer to: * Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional (DINA), the Chilean secret police under the Pinochet regime * DINA S.A., a Mexican truck and bus manufacturer See also * Dina (disambiguation) Dina may refer to: Places * Dina, Alber ...
as Maid * Giorgos Christodoulou as Da Rimi *
Dimitris Kallivokas Dimitris Kallivokas (; born 30 July 1930) is a Greek actor. He appeared in more than seventy films since 1958. Selected filmography References External links * 1930 births Living people Greek male film actors Male actors from Ath ...
as Chacon * Giorgos Charalampidis as Greco's father * Thodoris Zoumboulidis as Manousos * Lida Protopsalti as Carcadil's wife * Katerina Helmi as
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
noble woman * Fermi Reixach as Don Miguel de las Cuevas * Roger Coma as Paravicino * Constantinos Isaias as Orgaz


Soundtrack

An audio CD with the original soundtrack composed by
Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (, ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; , ), was a Greek musician, composer, and producer of electronic, progressive, ambient, and classical orchestral music. He composed ...
, '' El Greco Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'', was released in Greece on December 20, 2007, by
Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...
Greece, only a few days after the international release of the 25th Anniversary edition of the Blade Runner soundtrack. It consists of 18 tracks, 15 of them composed by Vangelis while the other three involve source material from within the film. This is the third project by Vangelis regarding El Greco, following '' Foros Timis Ston Greco'', an album released in 1995, and an expansion of it with three more tracks in 1998, titled ''
El Greco Doménikos Theotokópoulos (, ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco (; "The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance, regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. ...
''.


Reception


Awards

Winner: * 2007: Greek State Film Awards for Best Film * 2007: Greek State Film Awards for Best Director (Yannis Smaragdis) * 2007: Greek State Film Awards for Best Cinematography (Aris Stavrou) * 2007: Greek State Film Awards for Best Editing (Yannis Tsitsopoulos) * 2007: Greek State Film Awards for Best Music (Vangelis) * 2007: Greek State Film Awards for Best Set Decoration * 2007: Greek State Film Awards for Best Sound * 2007: Greek State Film Awards for Best Make up * 2008:
Cairo International Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year since its inception, except for 2011 and 2013, when it was cancelled ...
for Best Actor (Juan Diego Botto) * 2009:
Goya Awards The Goya Awards () are Spain's main national annual film awards. They are presented by the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain. The first ceremony was held in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Ar ...
for Best Costumes Design


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Greco, El 2007 films 2000s historical films 2000s English-language films English-language Greek films English-language Spanish films 2000s Greek-language films 2000s Spanish-language films Greek biographical films Films set in the 16th century Films set in Greece Films set in Crete Films set in Venice Films set in Toledo, Spain Films shot in Greece Films shot in Crete Cultural depictions of El Greco Biographical films about painters Films scored by Vangelis 2007 multilingual films Greek multilingual films Spanish multilingual films English-language historical films Spanish-language historical films