An uptight English writer traveling to Crete on a matter of business finds his life changed forever when he meets the gregarious Alexis Zorba.

Jesus, a humble Judean carpenter beginning to see that he is the son of God, is drawn into revolutionary action against the Roman occupiers by Judas -- despite his protestations that love, not violence, is the path to salvation. The burden of being the savior of mankind torments Jesus throughout his life, leading him to doubt.

Greece, in the 1920s, is occupied by the Turks. The country is in turmoil with entire villages uprooted. The site of the movie is a Greek village that conducts a passion play each year. The leading citizens of the town, under the auspices of the Patriarch, choose those that will play the parts in the Passion. A stuttering shepherd is chosen to play Jesus. The town butcher (who wanted to be Jesus) is chosen as Judas. The town prostitute is chosen as Mary Magdalene. The rest of the disciples are also chosen. As the movie unfolds, the Passion Play becomes a reality. A group of villagers, uprooted by the war and impoverished, arrive at the village led by their priest. The wealthier citizens of the town want nothing with these people and manipulate a massacre. In the context of the 1920s, each of the characters plays out their biblical role in actuality.

Captain Michalis, a fierce and indomitable warrior, has sworn to be black-clad, unshaven and unsmiling until Crete is liberated. But when he meets Emine, wife of his blood brother, Nuri Bey, he is possessed by 'a demon' that despite his efforts, he cannot get out of mind.

Bohuslav Martinů's Greek Passion, which outlines a serious, very topical problem today, which is the position of refugees in a foreign, often hostile environment, is among the composer's most important works in terms of both ideology and art. The English libretto was based on the novel "Christ Recrucified" (1951) by the Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis, which takes place in the first decades of the 20th century in the harsh Greek countryside.

Famous Greek artists Yannis Aggelakas and Olia Lazaridou read excerpts from the book A Journal of Two Voyages by Nikos Kazantzakis, while director Aris Chatzistefanou juxtaposes the narration with footage from modern Japan, combined with manga, anime, and video games. An ode to the last journey of the author that shaped his worldview and costed him his life.

Adapted from William Shakespeare' Coriolanus