Petrina hronia (1985)

The true story of a young couple (Babis and Eleni) fighting for love and freedom. An odyssey in and out of prisons during the dark period between the Greek civil war until the end of ... See full summary »

Director:

Pantelis Voulgaris

Writer:

Pantelis Voulgaris

Stars:

Themis Bazaka, Dimitris Katalifos, Maria Martika

6 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Themis Bazaka	...	Eleni
Dimitris Katalifos	...	Babis
Maria Martika	...	Eleni's Mother
Eirini Inglesi
Nikos Birbilis
Ilias Katevas
Thanos Grammenos
Penelope Pitsouli	...	Woman in Train
Marika Tziralidou
Tasos Ramsis
Michalis Boyaridis
Giannis Evdaimon
Tasos Palatzidis
Kostas Kleftogiannis
Vassilis Vassilakis

Storyline

The true story of a young couple (Babis and Eleni) fighting for love and freedom. An odyssey in and out of prisons during the dark period between the Greek civil war until the end of dictatorship in 1974. In 1954 Eleni goes to Athens to study medicine. When political oppression increases, Babis is imprisoned for political activity. To avoid the same fate Eleni hides for ten years. In 1966 Babis is released and they enjoy their love for a few days. She gets pregnant. Then she is arrested and gives birth to her child in prison. In 1967 the military junta overthrows the government and Babis is imprisoned again. They are released after the fall of the junta in 1974. They realise that in all those years they had spent only 70 hours together. The narration is honest without superficial emotionalism and focuses on the dignity of the characters against the stormy political history.

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Plot Keywords:

love | freedom | dictatorship | civil war | birth in prison | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance

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Details

Country:

Greece

Language:

Greek

Release Date:

6 November 1987 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Stone Years

Company Credits

Production Co:

Greek Film Center, Greek Television ET-1

Technical Specs

Runtime:

142 min 91 min (edited)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Yperoha plasmata: Tis Aristeras kai tis Proodou... (2008)

User Reviews

A True Story About Really Stone Years

It is agreeable that many countries have suffered civil wars or persecution of a merit of the people,but it is very difficult to explain in simple words what is going on in difficult times like these, without the use of weapons,battle scenarios or exaggerated drama. That is why exceptions like this humble and moving film have to be noticed and pointed out,because otherwise public misses a whole treasure of truth,love,patience and faith.If it was a film shot in Hollywood,it would have the gravity of those epic films that won many awards in the past.It is a must-especially for those whose roots are in this country but they live abroad.It shows that Greek people are not a joke,not gangsters,not funny-but-naive guys,but true and strong people that hold on to their beliefs (and they have fought for them until very recently) and they are capable of loving each other in extremely difficult times.The music is the essence of how an event should be combined with sounds.Really it cannot be explained with words,but it intrigues the deepest emotions a person can feel for what is presented in front of them.