The epitomy of arthouse

Just finished watching this and felt it was over-arty and in truth, a little boring.

The grey skies, snow and general misery of the whole production makes this film very different from anything I've seen featuring Greece so far. Gone are the beautiful mountain villages and clear skies, to be replaced by refugee shanty towns on a barren flood plain.

The film does however expose the sheer tragedy of civil war. The culmination, which sees Elini screaming as she mourns the death of one of her sons, leaves you feeling a little uncomfortable, such is the sedated nature of the movie until this point.

The sheer length of some of the shots leads to a very long film. You get the idea that time is passing, yet the biggest leap in time occurs during Elini's incarceration for aiding an insurgent, although there is no hint of any political affiliation present in the film, aside from the occasional mention of trade unions. If you have no idea about Greek history, then you may end up a little confused.

Symbolism is really important in the film. The final scene leaves you really puzzled - just how long has Elini's son been dead? What is represented by his body being found in an abandoned house, in the middle of a flooded village? This symbol didn't work for me.

One that did however was the flash back prior to the end. Both brothers, now fighting on different sides, embrace upon falsely hearing of the death of the mother. The mother, naturally, represents Greece, with both sides lamenting for her apparent death.

This is the kind of work in which European (and I don't mean British) directors excel. They have long rejected the unabashed populism of global cinema in favour of something suited to a particular niche. Fair play, I say. Just don't expect everybody to enjoy it.

If you're over accustomed to Hollywood junk or stereotypical images of Greece, don't watch this. If you believe that movies are an art form and aren't put off by a five minute shot of a funeral barge, then this is for you.