The 201 Canaries

A deliberate injustice forces an orphaned music student to leave home, only to land a job as a pianist for an affluent woman's canaries. Now, it's time to turn the page. Can she find a bright future amid two hundred and one songbirds? A music student, Lila, whose uncle has stolen the family fortune - agrees to play the piano for a cranky spinster, Miss Aristea, in a bid to make the latter's canaries sing. As time goes by, Aristea recalls her own youth and feels protective towards Lila. She assigns her lawyer to reclaim the girl's fortune from her embezzling uncle. However, during a visit by Lila's friends, her fiancé Paris is startled by a picture of his father, who, as it turns out, was Aristea's one true love. The unexpected emotion, however, doesn't help the unfortunate woman find peace and happiness; in fact, the shock kills her. In her will, it turns out that she has left Lila her 201 canaries, but in an old worn-out couch a significant sum of money is discovered. —Greek Film Archive A deliberate and irreparable injustice forces the orphaned piano student, Lila, to leave home and her guardians--a duplicitous and money-grubbing uncle, and his wife--to seek shelter in the house of a good friend. Desperate for cash, the wronged woman, unexpectedly, lands a peculiar but well-paying job: Lila is to entertain the precious canaries of her affluent overage employer, Mademoiselle Aristea, by playing her melodious tunes. Little by little, Lila and Aristea will form a deep and empathetic bond, against the backdrop of ardent bygone romances and powerful new loves; however, the wrongdoing still remains. Now, it's time to turn the page and start living. Can Lila find a bright future amid kind Aristea's two hundred and one little songbirds? —Nick Riganas