Feature film
Bitter Bread
Πικρό ψωμί
Grigoris Grigoriou · 1951
Synopsis
In a courtyard in a poor district of Athens, in the aftermath of the war, the Lymbéris family lives on a worker's wage. The father works on building sites; the mother cares for the eldest, Antónis, who lost both hands to a grenade during the Occupation and loves their Jewish neighbour, Louíza, in secret. The second son, Giángos, looks for work and gives up studying. All hopes rest on the youngest, Fotákis, a brilliant pupil for whom the family agrees to every sacrifice.
Context
Released on 17 December 1951 and produced by Panagiótis Dadíras for Olympia Film, the film was written by Ínta Christináki, who also plays Louíza, and adapted by Grigoriou; Joseph Hepp and Emmanouíl Tzanétis operated the camera, and Argýris Kounádis composed the music. Stratís Flóros, who played Giángos, died of meningitis during the shoot: his last scenes were filmed from behind with another actor. The censors first cut a pacifist line, then a second committee authorised the whole film. The Cinémathèque of Greece restored it in 2025.
Who it is for
About an hour and twenty-five minutes, in black and white and in Greek, viewable today in its digital restoration in 6.5K.
Prizes and reception
Regarded as the first Greek neorealist film, it was a failure on release, twelfth in admissions for its season.
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