Review of God Loves Caviar (2012) by Cigs J — 27 Nov 2016

Director: Yannis Varagdis.

With Sebastian Koch, John Cleese.

It is a dramatization of the life of a Greek historical figure - Ioannis Varvakis (1745-1825). He began as a 17 year old pirate on the Aegean, attacking Turkish merchant ships for booty and much praised by his fellow Greek countryman, who at the time were under the oppressive yoke of the Ottoman Empire. His fame brings him to the attention of Catherine the Great of Russia who hires him to open up the Caspian Sea for Russian-Ottoman trade. There he prospers, first with simple fish then gains exclusive rights to trade in caviar. He discovers a way to preserve the fish eggs allowing them to be carried to distant markets. Many Honours are bestowed upon him by Catherine and soon he is a millionaire. He is also a great philanthropist and invests in schools in Greece and a monastery.

The one thing that baffles me is the inaccuracy in the story of Tzar Paul - Catherine became the ruler of Russia after the assassination of Paul - she was married to him! How could the script writers get this detail wrong?

Years pass successfully, but he hankers to go back to Greece once more and after the death of his grown up son, he gives his wealth over to his daughter who is with him in Russia and travels back to Greece to help in the 1821 revolution and civil war. Once again he is seen as a hero in the country but is too divisive a figure for the new government to handle. Thus he is kept in isolation on a remote British Greek island Zakynthos, where he eventually dies.

It is too sentimental at times - the character is obviously well regarded by the director. It also flips fairly quickly through the episodes of his life so the film is effectively a sketch rather than an exploration of an extraordinary character.