The First Line

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Audience Member I'm down for any film that showcases lawyers as champions for a just cause. While I'm personally interested in the so-called "Elgin Marbles" issue — first having learned about the topic while studying in London — I don't see topic enticing most potential viewers who are scrolling through Netflix movies. In a nutshell, a British Earl in 1801 claimed to have permission from the Ottoman Sultan (who at that time had ruled Athens) to remove major parts of the Parthenon and take them to England. Since their independence in 1832, the Greeks have been trying to get them back — efforts most seriously revamped in the 1980s. However, the film is far from a courtroom drama. It felt as though half of the run-time was Andreas (Pantelis Kodogiannis) giving impassioned speeches about why the monuments should be returned to Greece (Andreas is Greek-American). The courtroom scene, the deposition, the said impassioned speeches, were over-acted and melodramatic. The director made some strange decisions — why did they keep flashing shots of some little girl?? Andreas gets hit in the head with a police baton and then just keeps walking down the street?? — and there was one line early on that almost turned this into a (Did Not Finish/DNF). The British Museum's curator (Michael Byrne) was a cantankerous British-stereotype of a villain. The coolest scene was the 3-D creation of the "re-united" Parthenon, even though, after conducting a little research, it appears this would not be the plan if the marbles are retunred to Greece — they would simply go from a British museum to a Greek one. While the Greeks may have the better argument (or not, I'm really not sure) the film avoided all nuance and felt more like propaganda than a dramatic rendering of the struggle. It's an interesting topic that's better left to a college debate topic or documentary. Skip it. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Tudo começou a degringolar para as esculturas sob ataque do império Otomano., e perpetuou desastrosamente com o Lord Elgin, que fatiou as obras para surrupiá-las, recentemente tentou ser resgatada pela ministra da cultura grega, ainda sem sucesso, lembrando que a doação fora feita pelos turcos... Tendencioso as causas helênicas, como pano de fundo um Amor infantil ficcional, a meu parecer seria favorável a restituição das obras de Atenas a Atenas "Daí a César o que é de César"... Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the worse movies ever. Not only is fake history but the acting is pathetic. The plot is farcical and the "legal" arguments used are so infantile that is beyond belief. The only positive is the "filters" used for the photography that gave a more positive view of that ugly city that is Athens. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the worse movies ever based on the fake history over the Elgin Marbles with extremely bad acting and a really incoherent storyline. Furthermore the Greek legal "argument" is extremelly infantile Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member Plot is quite difficult to believe, and looks more a grief by the situation (past and present) in Greece, full of big words and evoking images. However, it is a good excuse to increase information about Parthenon. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Slogged mY way through this on netflix. Personally i dont think they helped their case to get the elgin marbles back...... Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The First Line

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