The beautiful country of Greece is known as a spectacular and exotic tourist location, and not everyone knows that it went through almost continuous war and political conflict between the years 1939 to 1952. Of course, World War 2 was a major factor in this. The great visual director Theodoros Angelopoulos in 1975 addressed this period of strife in his homeland by concentrating on a theatrical troupe traveling through Greece while the world was going crazy around them. The movie he created was the epic motion picture, “The Travelling Players”.
A travelling theatrical troupe or players are touring their 19th century Greek classic play titled, “Golfo the Shepherdess”, and the movie opens with one of the many long, uninterrupted takes that Angelopoulos is renowned for. The Troupe arrives in a Greek town and start walking down the street slowly while a car bellows election propaganda supporting the right wing general Papagos from the Greek legislative elections of 1952. By the time the troupe complete their walk, they find themselves in the middle of the Nazi occupation of Greece sometime between the years 1941 – 1942. Then, once they arrive, the Troupe leader, Agamemnon joins the military to fight the Italians, placing the period now in 1940. In this initial set up to the movie, the more the troupe walked, the further they went back in time and, while very confusing for me initially, made more and more sense as the movie’s narrative expanded on the different time periods. It is this complex time-sharing, slow-moving style that incorporates scenes that seamlessly transition from one period to the next, which worked to completely immerse me into the tone of the location and period depicted in the movie.
“The Travelling Players” is not your typical historical drama, and while its intersecting of time periods throughout its narrative is like Coppola’s “Godfather Part 2”, it’s methods and style are totally different. Angelopoulos is one of cinema’s great visualists and his movie, at nearly 4 hours in length, is sparse in dialogue, preferring to choreograph long, elegant, encompassing shots that made me feel that I was experiencing what the characters were experiencing. In addition, all his stunning shots are accompanied by the hypnotic music of the wonderful composer, Loukianos Kilaidonis. Despite the movies’ long-running time, there are two occasions where Angelopoulos uses the breaking of the 4th wall as characters speak to the viewing audience directly, so as to give historical background information to the story. I believe he wanted to waste as little screen time as possible in incorporating historical context to the movie, without the use of narration. The style of the movie comes across as being very theatrical accompanied by visuals that are very cinematic. The result is a pure original style that is breathtaking to behold.
The plot within itself is not static in any sense as the story, contains. Love, loyalty, betrayal, and tragedy. These are themes that are in tune with the historical big picture of the Greek period being shown. After taking its time to immerse its viewer in its location and characters, the movie dwells deeply into the way this all affected the lives of the people who lived through it. Since a large part of the Greek history shown concerns a bloody civil war, Angelopoulos uses his characters to depict the betrayal and blood feuds that were prevalent in Greece at the time. For example, Agamemnon is betrayed by his wife and her new lover (and new Troupe leader), while she in turn is betrayed by her children. The theme of Nazi collaboration is also touched upon during the great famine that occurred in Greece during the occupation, showing this via the younger daughter who prostitutes herself for food. Torture and rape are also depicted as part of the package that was life during the civil war. In addition, foreign interference is also touched upon with the depiction of British and Americans forces who were worried that the communists would take over Greece. There is a brilliant scene where the newly arrived American Forces meet up with the travelling troupe, who introduce them to Greek music and culture by way of a quick impromptu performance of their play, followed by a spontaneous burst of dancing.
Visually, I was taken aback by this movie. Other than at the film’s end, this is not a showcase of the sunny beach-laden Greek Islands. Most of the film takes place in the mountains or rocky shores and during the autumn and winter seasons. Yet it was clear to me as to how much Angelopoulos loves his country by the way his camera flows along the old buildings, rocky scenery and rugged but expansive land. Flowing gently through the country with his strange but interesting characters, the movie is a visual feast. Showing everything in the grayish tones of the colder seasons was a perfect complement to the themes of cruel conflict.
It takes a special movie to reconstruct a period in our past with not only visual accuracy, but also a melancholy feeling. Even though I never lived in Greece during the period shown, I felt I knew what it was like to live there through this fascinating time capsule of a film as it engulfed me in its aura. That is the power of “The Travelling Players”, a timeless masterpiece that resonates with the power of a true artist.
1001 Movies before you die 