2014, Pantelis Voulgaris, Drama
LENGTH: 132 min
COUNTRY: Greece
YEAR: 2014
GENRE: Drama
LANGUAGE: Greek w/English subtitles
FORMATS: DCP, Blu-ray & DVD
DIRECTOR: Pantelis Voulgaris
CAST: Penelope Tsilika, Sofia Kokkali, Anneza Papadopoulou, Andreas Konstantinou, Maxomos Moumouris
CREW: SCREENWRITER: Ionna Karystiani; CINEMATAGRAPHER: Simos Sarketzis; EDITOR: Takis Yiannopoulos; MUSIC: Katerina Polemi; ASSOC PRODUCER: Yiannis Iakovidis
Set during the 1930’s and 40’s on the picturesque Greek island of Andros, part of the Cyclades archipelago with a long history of military embroilment and seafaring turmoil, Little England is not only the title of this film but also the name of a shipping enterprise introduced to the viewer as the story progresses. The opening scene of rolling ocean waves and crashing surf is a forbearance of the story’s schedule of turbulant events.
20 year-old Orsa (Penelope Tsilika) is passionately in love with second mate Spyros Maltabes (Andreas Konstantinou), a secret she dares not reveal to anyone, least of all her domineering mother, Mina. Her energetic younger sister, Moscha (Sofia Kokkali), is determined to leave Andros and escape the typical woman’s fate on the island; marrying sailors, who are the mainstay of Andros’s economy and constantly absent due to their seafaring duties. Mina (Anneza Papadopoulou), herself the wife of a captain who prefers the Atlántico Sur over his home, constantly ponders the reward for a life of blind marital faithfulness and inadvertently attempts to pass her beleaguered logic onto her daughters to protect them from the predictable heartache that women on Andros suffer as a result of marrying seafarers.
Without the slightest consideration of her daughters’ desire to marry out of love, Mina conspires and uses her societal connections to wed her daughters off to the wealthiest suitors Andros has to offer; Orsa to ship owner and captain Nikos Vatokouzis (Maxomos Moumouris) and later Moscha to the very man she rejected as a potential husband to Orsa, Spyros Maltabes, who returns to the island as an accomplished captain after spending years in the lower rankings of the ship’s hierarchy. The devious Moscha wastes no time torturing her sister with vivid descriptions of intimate moments with her new husband, for whom Orsa still harbors deep feelings. A final tragedy later seals the fate of the family as the story progresses into the throes of World War II, the events of which do nothing to make hauling cargo on the high seas any safer.
The Hollywood Reporter
By Boyd van Hoeij
“handsomely mounted and impeccably acted film… a woman’s picture in every sense of the word.”
“A must see! … a rare work of art … a truly beautiful film”
To Vima newspaper
“When the film ends, you feel as if not even an hour has passed within this maze of emotions that is wholly supported by the powerful performances… Pantelis Voulgaris looks ahead, with a film that is a period piece, yet belongs utterly in the present.”
Kathimerini newspaper
The film “departs” from space and time. It follows, step by step, the unfulfilled love, the majesty of passion… The pace of the film is methodically and gradually built by Pantelis Voulgaris, to lead to the crescendo of the last hour… “Little England” is a film written and filmed in blue. Without a break, like the sea, it doesn’t allow its heroes any rest.”
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1972 The Engagement of Anna
1977 Happy Day
1989 The Striker with Number 9
1991 Quiet Days in August
1995 Akropol
1998 It’s a Long Road
2004 Brides
2013 Little England
