Phanouropitta, or ‘Saint Phanourios’ Pie’, tells an ageless story. The mother of Saint Phanourios has, according to legend, subjected nine martyrs to a gruesome death with the aid of soldiers. The pie which is served as a sacrifice on the holy day of Phanourios, also has to be made with nine ingredients. But as Evanthia prepares the pie, she is distracted by her little daughter; as a result, she deviates from the exact recipe. She decides to add several other ingredients to the pie and Evanthia is convinced this can do no harm; it will only mean that more poor people can eat some of the pie. However she provokes the rage of Saint Phanourios and this has a number of unpleasant consequences. Beggars and cripples push, fight and chase each other for a piece of the pie, which eventually ends up in the dogs’ bellies.In Phanouropitta Dimitrios Yatzouzakis sketches the Greek countryside as a ‘primitive’ community with a tempo and norms which have long been forgottenin the West. The use of music inspired by Greek tradition and local actors and amateurs is largely responsible for determining the atmosphere of this touching film, starting sober and ending up baroque and burlesque.
