Christos Loulis - Dimitra Matsouka

Slaves in their bonds

a film by Tony Lycouressis

Slaves in their Bonds is the title of Constantinos Theotokis’ masterful final novel, written in 1922. In 2008 it was adapted into the big screen by director Tony Lycouressis. The film received rave reviews, and opened the gate to a new appreciation of historical period drama.

The story is set in 20th-century Corfu and chronicles the fall of the noble family of the Ophiomachi. Eulalia Ophiomachos is chosen against her will to save her family from financial ruin; she is forced to give up the love of her life, young scholar Alkis Sozomenos, in order to marry the wealthy doctor and arriviste Aristeidis Steriotis. However, nothing can prevent the family’s downfall, which seems to have been predetermined by events outside of their control.

The critically-acclaimed film, a bold representation of the political and social upheaval marked by the inevitable rise of the new bourgeoisie, follows the history of the Ophiomachi, their personal dramas and earnest attempts to avert their fate. The aim of the director, Tony Lycouressis, was to portray the main characters, and their trials and tribulations, in a way that would defy temporal constraints. Indeed, he has succeeded in presenting a narrative that remains relevant to our times, almost a century later. Regarding his aesthetic vision for the film, he has said: ‘It is a product of extensive study of paintings and photographs of that era; cinematic means are employed in an abstract way, so that the film becomes a commentary of the past, instead of rendering it with naturalistic accuracy’. On his decision to join this production, producer Nikos Sekeris said: ‘Listening again to a song of an older era, in the knowledge of the standards of the time it was written in, has nothing to offer you, save for general information. The values of the past can only work if we associate them with our days, just like a good song that has withstood the test of time’.

Slaves in their Βonds

Director: Tony Lycouressis

Screenplay: Tony Lycouressis, Yannis Maroudas, Maria Vardaka

Director of photography: Panayiotis Salapatas

Production design: Constantinos Zamanis

Costumes: Bianca Nikolareizi

Music: Minos Matsas

Montage: George Triantafyllou

Production manager: Marina Ipsilanti

Producer: Nikos Sekeris

Slaves in their Βonds

Director: Tony Lycouressis
Costumes: Bianca Nikolareizi

Dimitra  Matsouka  
Slaves in their Bonds 
A film by Tony Lykouressis

Akis  Sakellariou

Slaves in their Bonds 
A film by Tony Lykouressis

Akis  Sakellariou

Slaves in their Bonds 
A film by Tony Lykouressis

Dimitra Matsouka
Slaves in their Bonds 
A film by Tony Lykouressis

Yiannis Fertis
Slaves in their Bonds

A film by Tony Lykouressis