Exodos 1826

You wait for something better when the last Greek film about the revolution 1821 was in 70's.Excluding the great landscapes and the terrific cinematography,the acting was very poor and the direction doesn't have the real feeling. I was waiting for a climax that never came , too pity !

There is no denying that this film has some obvious shortcomings. It moves slowly, it has rather weak dialogue and some of its parts lack authenticity. However, it triumphs in an area where almost every other Greek patriotic film has failed and that is the detailed depiction of the inner conflict between the protagonists' personal feelings and their commitment to the national cause. In films like "Papaflessas" or "Souliotes" we see the heroes talk of self-sacrifice so many times and so pompously that everything looks unreal and unconvincing. Here we are faced with the human emotion as it really is. These men know they are going to lose their lives, but they decide to go and fight. They know what they leave behind, but they are determined to aid their compatriots and they march on. They are plagued by feelings of doom, but they still continue with their perilous journey. This inner conflict is depicted masterfully in the gloomy faces of the heroes, their stoic silences, their raw reactions, their melancholic movements.

In short, "Exodos 1826" is a decent project and a fresh approach to the Greek patriotic film genre. It is not perfect, but it is undoubtedly a step forward.

Four years of research, study and work ... two different cities (Giannitsa and Thessaloniki) and a lot of love for Greek history needed to shoot the new film about the revolution of 1821. After 46 years from "Papaflessas" while we are approaching 200 years since the palligennesia our nation.

The film "Exodus 1826" describes the story of 120 men from Samarina, Grevena and the surrounding villages, who rushed to help in the Mesolongi Exit in April 1826.

It is an independent production. The direction and the script are by Vasilis Tsikaras

It all started about 4 years ago when the director, Vasilis Tsikiras, reading about the revolution of 1821, was particularly moved by the story of ... the children of Samarina, and he wanted to understand the verse of the folk song "Children of Samarina".

I have just spent 1hr and 15 mins of a 1hr.36min film... watching a group of men walking through beautiful Greek mountains and countryside. There were occasional stops for some rather stilted dialogue. The womenfolk spent about maybe 15 mins in the whole film bemoaning their men's absence... This is supposed to be a movie about a heroic group of Greeks marching to help Missolonghi fight the Turks. It could have been 'epic'... Instead, it turned into an 'epic' ...fight to stay awake. Walking, stopping, more walking. Night movement where the Greeks, in blazing white costumes...tried to remain unnoticed. To say I was both disappointed and unimpressed would probably sum it up. Greeks can occasionally make really good TV and cinema, crisis or no crisis. Loufa kai Paralagi, the TV series is a hoot, really funny, and stands repeated watching. The first movie spin off (not the movie original) Seirines sto Aigeo, was also funny. Then Serines sti Steria less so, and after that descent followed rapidly. This 'Exodos 26' is a case where promising material, a good story, could have been made really exciting and inspiring... but instead fell flatter than a pancake. I'd rather watch To Nisi TBH. Greeks could do with some really good cinematic/TV historical uplift. This is not it. Sadly, Greece has a tendency to produce boring, stupid, or crazy ('Weird Wave') cinema/TV. Another rare exception to this was Aggigma Psyhis. But the exceptions are so few and far between, I spend ages on the Greek Movies website trying to find exceptions, and largely failing. L&P is there, AP is there. So is this. It doesn't require an enormous budget to make a decent production. Just good actors, good script, and imaginative direction. Sadly, Greece, at present, while it might have the first, is sadly lacking in the other two. And I'm not the first to say this. Many of the fiercest critics of Greek TV/film are Greeks themselves.

The good : B. Tsikaras makes a movie with no budget and resources but he organizes a team of many people successfully and I respect that. Also the direction of photography is amazing, D. stampolis delivered a visually interesting story. The bad : everything else. The script, acting, directing, action.