Behind the Haystacks
A lyrical Greek family drama in which a border tragedy exposes the personal and social costs of evading responsibility.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- poetic
- caustic
- melancholic
- quiet evening
- film festival viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as an economical, poetic, and caustic social drama that confronts ignored human suffering without offering easy solutions.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film subtly condemns Greek society for ignoring suffering connected to the northern border crisis.
A tragic incident strikes a local family of three and forces each member to confront personal impasses and responsibility.
Critics specifically describe Proedrou’s approach as lyrical and economical, with no easy answers.
The family must collectively consider the price of their actions rather than relying on a single protagonist’s perspective.
Films like Behind the Haystacks, and why
The Other Side of Hope
social realism, moral culpability, and an intimate family drama shaped by a border crisis
The Silence of the Sea
poetic austerity, peripheral European settings, and human suffering observed without easy answers
The Insult
socially critical drama about ordinary people confronting ethical responsibility amid institutional indifference
Movie Details
- Director
- Asimina Proedrou
- Release Date
- 2023-01-19
- Runtime
- 108 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (16)
Cast
- Stathis Stamoulakatos
- Eleni Ouzounidou
- Evgenia Lavda
- Christos Kontogeorgis
- Dina Mihailidou
- Paschalis Tsarouchas
- Giannis Degaitis
- Kostas Filippoglou
- Litsa Giannou
- Stefanos Kosmidis
Common questions
- What is Behind the Haystacks about?
- A lyrical Greek family drama in which a border tragedy exposes the personal and social costs of evading responsibility.
- What is Behind the Haystacks like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Behind the Haystacks as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Behind the Haystacks violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Behind the Haystacks as mild.
- What did critics think of Behind the Haystacks?
- Critics broadly regard the film as an economical, poetic, and caustic social drama that confronts ignored human suffering without offering easy solutions.
- Which films are like Behind the Haystacks?
- Films with a similar feel include The Other Side of Hope, The Silence of the Sea, and The Insult.
- How long is Behind the Haystacks?
- Behind the Haystacks runs 108 minutes.
