From the heights of his 85 years, the dramatic Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis takes the viewers on a journey through 70 years of his prolific musical career. He talks, demonstrates, analyzes and unfolds the inspirations of his works. The film is using a plethora of archive films which illustrate his explanations. Pictures from his childhood, his love of Crete and the island’s influence on the melodies he wrote, his experiences of release and total freedom: once after he returned from exile and moved to Paris in 1954 and the other when he escaped to Paris from the Régime of the Colonels in 1970.
The film is the first to take the complete musical work of composer Theodorakis as its main theme. It reveals his oeuvre as surprisingly little known. The multifaceted portrait was created in the awareness that consideration of Theodorakis will always go over and above his person and creative activity. In this regard the film is, in the best sense of the word, a sketch. It highlights a unique body of work in musical history.
Summary of the Telluride Film Festival about the film "Mikis Theodorakis. Composer" (at the Festival programme in 2012): "For many composers, working with directors such as Michael Powell and Jean Renoir and writing the scores for films including ZORBA THE GREEK, SERPICO and Z would be crowning achievements. For Mikis Theodorakis, one of the 20th century’s major composers, such credits are barely more than footnotes to a stranger-than-fiction life. Born in Greece and living under occupations and dictatorships and even imprisoned, Theodorakis found ways to weave modern techniques with melody, making music that stands in contrast to the sometimes cold dissonance of his contemporaries. In his own words, Theodorakis recounts his remarkable life, his artistic triumphs, the years of intense social upheaval and his hugely influential political career. –JD"