THEOPHILOS
The gaps in the story of
Theophilos lea I've the we y open
to the arbitrary play
of our imagination. "
Anagnostopoulos Andreas, from
Dimitsana, gunpowder-maker.
Doukas Dimitrios, from
Agrafa, mattress-maker.
Douros Markos, from Zante,
school-teacher.
Markomichelakis Emmanuel, from
Handax in Crete, farmer.
Constantine Katsimichas,
from Siatista, mason.
Miltiades Yataganas, from Lido-
riki, shepherd on Mount Ghiona.
Glavas Odysseus, from Amarous-
sion in Attica, water-carrier.
Panoutsos Constantine, from Me-
nidi in Attica, charcoal-burner.
Theophilos Hatzimichail,
from Mytilene, isle
of Lesbos, "Kavassis'
What does that mean?
Porter at the Greek
Consulate in Smyrna
Kyriakopoulos Pericles...
Single file patrol.
Face right. March.
Steady!
Prepare for attack.
Sight your targets.
Fire!
Dandies from Athens...
Labourers and craftsmen
from Piraeus...
Potters from Aegina...
- Sharpshooters from Mani.
Cotton-pickers
from Levadia...
Fish and?shermen
from Missolonghi...
Stand to!
Next.
Stand to.
Next.
I'd rather
have a sword
Long live the nation!
Long live the nation!
Get back.
Extra! Extra!
War ends!
Newspapers here, newspapers!
Major events!
Though Greece will retain
her territorial integrity,
she will emerge
from this war...
both materially and
morally diminished.
To be a shepherd in May
keeper of the vineyard
in August...
but better still, to be
a fighter up in the mountains
a rebel in the plains
to take up my sword
and ride my horse...
high up to the
Goura mountains
where the rebels
have their lairs...
to muster
my band of braves
scattered across
the countryside...
These weapons of mine
will never lay down...
- Offer them a drink
- Yes, madam.
Come on, we're leaving
Turks, hold back
your horses...
that I may rest awhile...
that I may bid farewell...
to the mountains,
the rebels' haunts
and tell my men to carry on
without me, for must go...
My men, must go
now to meet my death
On your knees, Katsantonis,
pay me obeisance...
and I will make you lord
of Epirus and Thessaly.
If I kneel before you, Ali
Pasha, all the Greeks...
will be brought down on their
knees along with me.
Kneel, or I'll have
to kill you.
Do what you must
Ali, without delay.
How dare you talk to me like
this, you wretched coward!
You are the
cowardly one, Ali
Take him away to the
tortune-chamber.
I'll have them break
your bones...
Katsantonis, you dog!
Take him away.
Farewell, tall mountains,
farewell, gentle hilltops...
Mount Tzoumerka and Agrafa
where heroes are wont to roam.
If you come across my wife
if you come across my son..
tell them I was betrayed, lured
to my death by dastardly ruse,
helpless as a babe
in swadding clothes.
Fear nothing, Ali Pasha,
neither fire nor hammer nor anvil
Strap him to the anvil!
Break his bones!
Yes, strike me, kill me,
kill the hero Katsantonis.
Strike!
Strike hard!
Break his bones!
You dog, Katsantonis!
Not a sound from
you? Not a sigh?
Cry out, you dog, once only
that may rejoice...
A single cry, an oh!
Is all ask...
Why do you do
this to me?
He shot the man!
Catch him!
Mm...
Be careful
of his head.
Am sending you
the suit...
bought in Smyrna
It's made of fine cloth...
was told, top quality
foreign cloth...
The shop got it from
was very central...
with a most select
clientele...
It will fit my brother
very well...
will not be needing
it any more...
Your son.
Ready?
Don't move!
Done.
We've finished.
Want to send it
to my mother.
You're off to Pelion
in that costume?
Katsantonis himself didn't
out a finer figure!
Strike!
Strike as hard
as you can!
Go on, strike!
Don't spare me
One, two, three
four, five...
One, two, three
Throw them down.
Go on, throw them down.
Panais Koutalianos
went off to America...
and there he was challenged
to a wrestling match.
Only instead of a wrestler
they put a tiger in the ring.
So Panais Koutalianos
cried out:
Hey boys, you've let a beast
loose into this ring!
And they replied:
Hey, Koutalianos! You're mad
to fight only with beasts...
So he put his fingers round
the tiger's neck...
and the tiger choked, and
Koutalianos went to hospital.
After a few days
he recovered.
Then they asked him: "How much
do you want?" "Name the price".
And panais said: "All want
is tax exemption...
for my fellow-villagers
back home in Koutali. "
I'll paint your horse-cart
as a memento!
He went to Egypt, he acted in
"Cleopatra" and grew famous.
Wandering around, with nothing
but a stout heart...
a fearless spirit, he fought the
Turks, men of fearful aspect,
over at Fener-Bakseh...
Both Koutalianos and
Katsantonis were short men
yet they grew to be
the glory of Greece.
In those days, a strange man
by the name of Samson...
returned to his homeland
after a long absence.
Now Samson was a giant
of a man, a real lion.
All his strength lay
in his thick, long hair
Before he was born, God sent
an angel to his mother...
and the angel said:
"Your son belongs to the Lord
let no razor come on his head
no iron touch his hair. "
Thus beautiful and invincible
he looked like Hercules,
the famous hero of our
ancestors, the Ancient Greeks
Easy now! Don't push.
There's room for all of you
She's not a mermaid
She's not a fairy...
She is Kama,
the flower of Smyrna
A slave in search of her belo-
ved... only when she finds him
can she regain
her body once more
The show
is about to begin
You are about to witness the
most wondrous spectacle.
The famous magician
Iska presents...
the Bodiless Head.
Th I'll.
That was parted from its
body many centuries ago
Ladies and gentlemen, we have
here before us a cube.
Let us check
all its sides,
except the one facing
the curtain.
Right, left, bottom...
all sides checked.
Now if we draw the curtain
aside, we shall see,
a bunch of green boughs
and flowers.
Im a few seconds, the
Bodiless Herd will arear...
on the bunch of flowers.
No, it is not a dummy
and it is not a doll...
Bodiless Head, command
thee to invest yourself...
with a nervous system
and to start moving.
Bodiless Head, begin by
opening your eyes, slowly.
As you may all see, she opens
her eyes, slowly.
We may now assume that
she is able to see us.
Where were you born?
In the harems
of the East.
The harems of the East...
How old are you?
Twenty centuries old
My dear friends,
as you see, we have here
a living head,
severed at the neck
perfectly capable of
answering any question
You are free to ask her
any question you like.
How many are these, Kama?
Two
And these?
Four
Four, dear friends
four, she said.
What is your name?
Kama-a-a-a
The little man
from Smyrna..
A bee stung me
between my eyebrows.
Mother.
Ladies and gentlemen
you have been speaking
to a living severed head.
The show is over.
Romeo.
The Shakespearean hero.
Juliet's lover
It's the little man
from Smyrna...
Theophilos Hatzimichail
painter.
You're an artist!
Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore
art thou, Romeo?
Deny the father,
and refuse thy name
Or, if thou wilt not
be but sworn my love
And I'll no longer
be a Capulet. "
I've played that part
Kama.
Be some other name:
What's in a name?
That which we call a rose
by any other name...
would smell as sweet.
Romeo, doff thy name
and for that name...
which is no part of thee
take all myself. "
The hero Davelis,
the Duchess' lover
Dearest Tassos, speak, for
have not long to live.
Speak, my love, do not
torment me any more.
Can you not see have no
heart for such pleasantries?
Life is like the high seas,
but we were heedless;
and heedless,
we fell in love;
we drank deep and grew
drunk on love...
And we never saw the sad fate
that lay in store for us... "
We must pack, Kama
We're leaving
for Velestino.
It was no more than a joke
a childish game...
such as we all play
sooner or later. "
Velestino, the home of
the hero Rigas Ferraios
Known as Ferrae
in ancient times;
Public rumour spreads the
message of the insurrection.
to the remotest corners
of enslaved Greece.
The mountain fighters rise
one after the other,
and openly declare
war on the Turks.
Members of the secret
Society of Friends...
scatter from one end of
the country to the other..
Preparing the ground for
the national uprising.
Now the Greek shepherd
no longer plays...
the sad tunes of slavery
on his flute...
but pipes instead the war-like
ballands of Rigas Ferraios.
And though the sun
is still high,
he sees another,
brighter light,
a heavenly light streaming
into his humble room.
And in this light he discerns
the figure of a saintly woman,
meek and gentle, a halo
round her head,
and he hears a sweet voice
addressing him thus:
"Rest in peace, corsair. will
make your country rise again.
Rigas Ferraios, kindling
the love of liberty...
in the Greeks.
Painted by Sotiris
Christidis.
Lithographed by
Mr... Erginis, Athens
Well, Theophilos, can you
paint something like this?
In my own way
The faces have faded, but
the rest is still there.
I'll fix it.
You're here to whitewash
the place. Get started!
Chunks of grilled meat...
Jugs of red wine
Fresh onions from
the vegetable garden
sweet camomile...
Those smudges of yours
are no good any more.
So get on with it!
Mister...
- Mister?
- What is it'?
Alexander the Great
went to sleep...
and in his dreams
he saw the Prophet
and the Prophet
said to him:
"Alexander my son,
march against Darius
without fear... "
Knowing that the God of Heaven
and earth is on your side.
And Alexander woke up,
ful of joy,
and at daybreak he went to
war against the Persians.
With sword and srear,
they attacked the enemy...
and from morning
to night there was.
such slaughter
and bloodshed...
that the earth itself
took fright,
for blood flowed
like a river.
Alexander, King!
Life, Soul and Death.
I am not afraid of Lightning
I am not afraid of thunder...
Me!
Costis...
Make it a good likeness.
Did you hear me?
Do you want Botsaris'
moustache? or Androutsos'?
What do you mean?
Botsaris' moustache
is shoret and thick,
Androutsos moustache
is long and thin.
A beard would be best.
The ladder-watch out!
Good night.
May come in and
see my pictures?
They'll last
They'll last.
Is the horse
still alive?
We lost him, Theophilos
last year.
Here he's galloping...
- He was galloping, Theophilos
- He's galloping.
One Saturday evening...
on the feast
of Lazarus,
I was passing by
Etolikon, friends,
and by the city
of Missolonghi,
and as went by,
friends,
heard men weeping.
You can spend the night
here, Theophilos.
I am unclean for a house
such as this.
I will soil your things.
It is very late
I'll be leaving tomorrow.
Will go to my mother
Those other painters
in Volos,
they got a brigand
to hunt me down...
He broke into the house
where slept,
he jumped down on the from the
roof and tried to kill me.
But lay awake that night
and heard him...
The room is dimly lit
by a small oil-lamb.
Suddenly a harsh frigid laugh
is heard in the silence,
a diabolical laugh, enough
to freeze the blood...
of the bravest man.
And lo! Before him stood the
brigand chief, Kakarapis,
with flashing eyes, arms
crossed against his chest,
a truly fearful figure
a fiendish spectre.
Though a man of dauntless
courage, he took fright...
before the blood-courdling
apparition,
the mysterious, almost
supernatural apparition...
of the brigand chief.
Yet his terror was
mingled with awe,
for the brigand had come
down through the roof...
and reached his bedside
without the slightest sound.
But in a few moments
his fear disappeared,
and he regained his
customary composure
He raised his sabre and
pointed it at the brigand..
Then there was
that other time,
when they sent some
children after me,
young ones,
but older ones too
They broke into the house
and stole my paintings,
my drawings, forty bars of
scented soap, cloves, cinnamon
my brand-new fustanella.
I fought with then
hand to hand...
and finally managed
to get away.
We're nearly there
Shall lift you so
that you can see?
Are they expecting you?
I've been away
a long time, Sister
You look like Louis
the Marathon runner?
mi
Keep the hammer slanted
hold it firmly... "
Didnt they call
Father Pumpkin-head too?
We were all called
that in our family.
Keep it slanted firmly
Theophilos.
Mother has kept some of
grandfather's paintings...
He left them
half finished.
Why don't you finish them?
Then we might sell them.
Grandfather used to sell
them a sovereign a piece.
Can't Stave
my hand balks.
Paint differently
you see.
After left home, Mother,
went to Smyrna.
I got a job as a porter
at the Greek Consulate.
On feast-days always
wore my uniform...
and people used to say
There goes Theophilos
I found myself at the
battle of Velestino,
and then at the
battle of Domokos
with some other
sharpshooters.
Then went to our
cousins in Pelion,
and there began
to paint.
One day went
back to Smyrna
I painted pictures
of our Greek heroes.
The Turks happened
to see my paintings.
They saw my signature.
They proclaimed was wanted
for helping the insurrection...
I always carried weapons
with me... ammunition...
and painted
Now I've come
back home.
Ready?
Are there any more paintings
in the area?
Yes, there are
He wanders all over
the island, painting.
He sells them for a piece
of bread, poor wretch.
My son is interested
in his work.
He is using the same
compositions as at Volos
He has only added the
landscapes of Lesbos.
And here we have
the Greek Rousseau.
I'd really like to know
how he mixes his colours.
These shades,
this range of colours
they remind one of Matisse
don't you think?
Yes, decidedly,
a European-like painter
The Greeks seem to have a rare
notion of cleanliness.
They're constantly
white-washing their houses
They'll never save
these paintings.
They've been writing about you
in Athens, Theophilos...
about your paintings...
"Theophilos' paintings are
the work of a medium. "
He is not what one may call
a conscious, gifted artist,
with a strictly personal
approach or style.
It is as if Greek nature
and the Greek way of life
expressed themselves directly,
totally, in these paintings...
using Theophilos as a channel
an intermediary,
in the same way that a medium
in a trance conveys...
the thoughts and wishes of
some other, unrelated spirit. "
Medium... does that
mean... a magician?
Read it out loud.
We want to hear it
We applaud
Theophilos Hatzimichail,
the folk artist... "
in the white fustanella,
who handles colour...
with a truly
astounding..
Power!
Fine paintings, Mr. Stratis
real artistic stuff.
Those loaves of bread will
fall, the way you're done them
Don't worry... its the real
loaves that fall.
Painted bread never falls.
In a painting, everything
must be seen clearly.
Bread...
I'M
I'M
Look, look!
Sarandaporo... Bizani
Nevrokopion...
Lachana...
Kozani...
Go away.
Velentzas' bakery.
Diamantis the butcher.
Will you paint for me?
Large walls?
No, you will paint
on canvas.
Lots of pictures?
As many as you like
Mr. Stratis,
sends you these
Paint as many pictures
as you can.
This is to buy paints.
I'll have to mix
the colours differently
He said, paint anything you
like, only copy these as well.
Tell him...
can't do that
- Mother.
- Take me inside
Sunbathing after
a swim in the sea...
Olive-picking, by
Theophilos Hatzimichail
Koutalianos
at Montevideo.
What purity of soul!
Stave, tell us something
about your brother's paintings
Thou embellisher
of nature's landscapes
thy skilful hand commingles
colours in such a fashion...
that thou hast become the livi-
ng wonder of the worlds of an.
Thy lofty spirit, instilled
with godsend inspiration,
hath brought upon thee the gold
en rays of everlasting glory.
A true son of the isle,
that bore Sappho and Arion.
Child of Lesbos.
What did I do?
I must be mad.
The watchful Muses assist
thee in thy noble task...
animated by the ardent love
of beauteous Nature...
of Nature, as was saying
yea, of Nature...
Go away, Theophilos
go away...
am standing on air
Uncle...
Uncle.
Here's some fish
From my mother.
Will you go to
the parade tomorrow?
Yes. I'm going with
my schoolmates.
We're little fishes
all of us...
all born in the great
baptismal font.
Uncle...
Uncle...
VIDEOPRESS S.A.