The Man with the Carnation

This is an excellent film, political and well crafted, concerning a crucial time in modern Greek history, the post-Civil War era and the intrusive US presence in the political life of Greece. Granted, the communist threat was still ever-present in the Greek psyche but the US Ambassador and the Pentagon's presence in Greek political life, and the influence the US Embassy wielded on the government and the Palace is well handled. The acting is controlled and not excessive as is usual in Greek films and except for the opening vignettes of police actions against the Greek leftists and their suffering on the prison IsIand (perhaps Makronissos) is convincing.

Nikos Beloyannis was one of the TOP HEROES of the Greek Left Wing, HERO of the Greek Resistance against the Nazis, who gave with smile his life for the next generations live with pride, honor and freedom.

As his incredible speech in the court, he marked with his words that him and the others were not "traitors" of Greece; they simply had DIFFERENT political ideas, the "Red" ideas, which in that period (early of 50's) were No1 ENEMY of USA and the rest Western governments.

It was truly a WRONG and UNFAIR, with NO JUSTICE at all trial. The Right Wing was super powerful in Greece in early of '50s and in fact, just a decade afterwards the Greek Right Wing & the Army made a COUP & eventually DICTATORSHIP for 7 long dark years!

A very emotional film, very good portraiting the notorious NIKOS BELOYANNIS, one of the Greek people's heroes.