Ifigeneia (1977) - Michael Cacoyannis
{101} Movies Seen in 2019 - 4 Stars
I had the opportunity to see this beautiful film yesterday followed by a discussion on greek mythology.
It's a subject I'm familiar with in a way, having studied Sofocles and a couple of other tragedies, but never read any Euripides.
My first impression is that this is a very old movie, but it's so simple, with just a few basic sets and with a focus on the cast that you easily forget it's from 1977.
The music is so loud and eery, it's strange at first, but once you grasp the mood of the film it's perfectly fitting.
This is the story about the events happened right before Troya's war, with Elena having already fled with her lover. The God's aren't favoring Greeks at this time, Artemis being mad over the soldiers killing a deer. So, the chief of war receives an oracle that says he must sacrifice his oldest daughter for Greece to win. From then on we have many beautiful pain-filled dialogues. The parent's pain and guilty, versus the need and wish of thousands.
I don't want to spoil things for anyone interested in seeing this but I have to say I love how ambiguous the ending is. And that this is a truly feminine myth.