Director Kazan tells the story of his uncle (named Stavros in the film) who grew up in Turkey and emigrated to the United States as a young man. Stravos was Greek and, in the late 1800s when the movie takes place, Greeks were an oppressed minority in Turkey, along with the Armenians. The movie does a good job of showing how incensed Stavros is to see his father's obsequious behavior toward the Turks, and he suffers humiliation in an early scene where the Turks take what they want from an ice cart without any recompense. Stavros's yearning to escape this oppression is well motivated and his feelings are no secret within the family.
Seeing his outrage, the family gives Stavros everything they can spare so that he can get to Constantinople to work with his uncle, a rug seller. From there we follow Stavros through some difficult adventures as he pursues his monomaniacal quest to get to America. When someone says, "I would kill to do such and such," it is usually spoken metaphorically, but it becomes a reality for Stavros.
The stories of Kazan's real life uncle came down to him as family history. As any tale handed down through several tellers this story gives evidence of embellishments. Whether these came down to Kazan as presented in the movie, or whether he added his own we don't know, but consider the chance meeting on a trail in the countryside between Stavros and Hohannes, an impoverished compatriot who also is bent on getting to America. Stavros gives Hohannes his shoes and this established a bond between the two. Then years later it turns out that Stavros and Hohannes are on the same boat to America and, through a complicated plot point, Hohannes gives his life so that Stavros can make it. Seems to stretch believability. And I have to think that the scene where Stavros is taken for dead and happens to fall off the burial cart is overplayed.
The black and white photography by Haskell Wexler is impressive. Black and white is appropriate for the stark nature of this movie; there are hardly even any shades of gray in Stavros's personality. Even as much a fan of black and white as I am, I was left wondering how filming this in color would change the the tone of the movie.
While the forces driving Stavros to his destiny were clear, in his portrayal of the man I felt that Stathis Giallelis did not emote the strength of character that Stavros must have had in order to accomplish what he did. Think of a young Anthony Quinn in this role.
The last part of the movie is quite emotional. The scenes at Ellis Island are so realistic that I assume many of them come from documentary footage. Poignant to see how the ancestors of many of us born in this country came to be here.
The score by Manos Hadjidakis is memorable.
Seeing his outrage, the family gives Stavros everything they can spare so that he can get to Constantinople to work with his uncle, a rug seller. From there we follow Stavros through some difficult adventures as he pursues his monomaniacal quest to get to America. When someone says, "I would kill to do such and such," it is usually spoken metaphorically, but it becomes a reality for Stavros.
The stories of Kazan's real life uncle came down to him as family history. As any tale handed down through several tellers this story gives evidence of embellishments. Whether these came down to Kazan as presented in the movie, or whether he added his own we don't know, but consider the chance meeting on a trail in the countryside between Stavros and Hohannes, an impoverished compatriot who also is bent on getting to America. Stavros gives Hohannes his shoes and this established a bond between the two. Then years later it turns out that Stavros and Hohannes are on the same boat to America and, through a complicated plot point, Hohannes gives his life so that Stavros can make it. Seems to stretch believability. And I have to think that the scene where Stavros is taken for dead and happens to fall off the burial cart is overplayed.
The black and white photography by Haskell Wexler is impressive. Black and white is appropriate for the stark nature of this movie; there are hardly even any shades of gray in Stavros's personality. Even as much a fan of black and white as I am, I was left wondering how filming this in color would change the the tone of the movie.
While the forces driving Stavros to his destiny were clear, in his portrayal of the man I felt that Stathis Giallelis did not emote the strength of character that Stavros must have had in order to accomplish what he did. Think of a young Anthony Quinn in this role.
The last part of the movie is quite emotional. The scenes at Ellis Island are so realistic that I assume many of them come from documentary footage. Poignant to see how the ancestors of many of us born in this country came to be here.
The score by Manos Hadjidakis is memorable.