DOXOBUS-A BYZANTINE PLOT (1986) -- partially in Greek with English Subtitles

Part 1 has the full film without subtitles while part two isan abridged version with English subtitles. This is a very rare film featuring not only the machinations of the late Byzantine era, but also gives a slice of life of the common folk of the time. In the film, At the beginning of the 14th Century, the Byzantine Empire is in turmoil. All of the Empire's frontiers are under high pressure from its enemies and a civil war is in the making. Living in a village in the Byzantine "thema" of Macedonia, Xenos, witnesses his father's death and his mother forming a relationship with the village elder. When she gives birth to the elder's son, Xenos is sent to live in a monastery. When the boy reaches adulthood, he chooses the life of a soldier in the Byzantine army and swiftly rises through the ranks as the civil wars emerge.