Rembetiko (1983)

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Based on a true story, this uneven but engaging musical drama sweeps through a turbulent 40 years in popular singer Marika Ninou's (Sotiria Leonardou) life -- and in the history of Greece -- starting with the singer's birth in Smyrna, Turkey in 1917. Ninou was deported to Greece along with all the other Greeks in Smyrna when she was only seven years old, and a few years later, her parents started a career as a musician and a singer in a nightclub/bar. In the short space of one decade, Ninou witnesses her father murder her mother, runs away from home, has a baby, and comes back to the nightclub to sing in an act with a childhood friend and a bouzouki player, Babis. Success finally comes big-time, but then Ninou's childhood friend is exiled for political reasons, and she and Babis leave for other venues. Although Ninou carries a torch for Babis, their relationship never seems to work out, and after many years and World War II go by, she sends her daughter away to a convent school and goes on a tour in America. At last, her fame may spread beyond the boundaries of Greece -- or so it seems. Sotiria Leonardou won the prize for "Best Actress" at the 1983 Thessaloniki Film Festival, for her portrayal of Ninou, and the film itself tied for "Best Picture," and won three other awards as well (two "Best Supporting Actor" prizes, and one for music). ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi