Serenity
Cast & Crew
Gregory J. Markopoulos
Norma Valdi
Constantine Baldimas
Vivian Verrilli
George Foundas
Nina Bobbie
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In the early 1920's, after Greece and Turkey have signed a peace establishing new boundaries, the two countries exchange groups of displaced nationals. Among those forced to leave their traditional homes are the Greeks of Ionia in Asia Minor. Eirene Veni, whose husband, idealistic physician Dimitri Veni, is much older than she, recalls how she and her family first came to the village of Anávissos in Greece. Rather than cultivate wheat and grapes as the Greek government prescribed, Dimitri decided to grow a rose garden, as his family had always done in their homeland. Recurring throughout the film is an image of Dimitri at rest in a quiet orchard meditating over the collapse of his marriage with Eirene since the migration and over his relationship with the band of refugees who consider him their leader. Meanwhile, Photis Glaros and his wife, Eleni, who are also refugees, discover an ancient statue in their field, but a grave robber steals the statue and strangles Eleni. One day Anna, the daughter of Dimitri and Eirene, informs the villagers that the prisoners of war are returning from Asia Minor. The villagers go out to greet the returning soldiers but are dismayed to see a solitary, ragged man on the footpath. As they turn to head for home, Dimitri recognizes that the soldier is Andreas, the son of one of the Ionians. In Anávissos, Andreas experiences recurring reveries in which he makes love with Anna and in which Anna is raped and killed. [Some sources suggest that these are actual occurrences.] Eirene uproots her husband's rose garden, and a 30-second sequence ensues in which the scenes of the film follow one another in rapid succession.
Director
Gregory J. Markopoulos
Cast
Norma Valdi
Constantine Baldimas
Vivian Verrilli
George Foundas
Nina Bobbie
Koula Agagiotou
Athena Mihalidou
Dimitri Maras
Pandopoulos
Lili Yannikaki
Margarita Goumas
Thanas Veloudios
Byron Pallis
Takis Cabouras
Dimitri Stamos
Mike Papalexis
Brian Clark
Peter Schreicher
Mr. Kozowski
Crew
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Filmed on location in Greece, including Anávissos and Mitilíni, in 1958. Date of completion: 1961. Dedicated to Madame Tiggie Ghika.
Miscellaneous Notes
Shown in New York City (Whitney Museum of American Art) as part of program "Gregory J. Markopoulos Mythic Themes, Portraiture, and Films of Place" March 20 - April 7, 1996.
