Iphigenia (1977)

You won't be disappointed!

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

First of all, I have to give vent to my random thought about the story of Iphigenia (as in most Greek tragedies), where men predominately are vapid barbarians, blinded by belligerence, superstition and misogyny, they would prefer engaging a bloody warfare to returning home, certainly this type of story is worlds apart from my way of thinking, yet, this film adaption is a painstaking cinematic wonder to behold, not to mention Kakogiannis superb dexterity in extracting the heart-rending theatrics out of his stage but utterly dedicated cast, headlined by the legendary Irene Papas and a bracing debut performance from Papamoschou as the titular heroine represents the virtues of innocence, self-sacrifice and true grit. The third piece of Cacoyannis' Greek TRAGEDY trilogy, the other two are ELECTRA (1962) and THE Trojan WOMEN (1971), both I have yet to watch. IPHIGENIA firstly astonishes in its epic scale, its solemnity and optic grandeur is quite unparalleled for its time, and what could be more legitimate than a Greek tragedy concocted by a Greek maestro in situ? This proposition alone is alluring enough! This is a prelude of the Trojan War, Agamemnon (Kazakos) has to tough decision to make, under the oracle from Artemis, he must sacrifice her first-born child, Iphigenia, in order to atone a slip when his army accidentally slaughtered a sacred deer in a temple dedicated to Artemis, a consequence is that all his fleet is kept at bay without the aid of wind to sail while his men are growing fatigued, bored and anxious for the battle. Then Agamemnon's wife Clytemnestra (Papas) and Iphigenia are tricked to the front, under an ostensible pretext to marry Iphigenia to Achilles (Mihalopoulos), but soon the lie is debunked, can Iphigenia escapes her doom? It is a no-brainer actually because it is named "tragedy" for an obvious reason.When fate rules, individual effort cannot alter it, so what is intriguing falls on the process itself, how Clytemnestra fights wholeheartedly and desperately for saving her beloved daughter, how Achilles transitions from an outsider to swear protection for her with no regard of his own life, how Agamemnon is tormented by the guilt and grief yet he is too proud to disregard the interest of the bigger picture. But most essentially is Iphigenia's own mental progress, from a bright young bride-to-be to a designated oblation for others' sacrilege, her anticipated wedding-day turns into her last-day-on-earth, and from the initial entreatment to her final tranquil acceptance of her unfair fate. On paper, it is a role seems too challenging for Papamoschou, who is only 13-year-old at then without any acting experience, but in reality, her performance is a key element ascribed to the film's success (a Palme d'Or competitor and an Oscar nominee). Bearing an angelic appearance, she balances against histrionics her co-stars, establishes a poignant image of a martyr, St. Joan of Arc style, and never let her own innocuousness off the map, that's what we call a pathos generator.There is no question of how excellent is Papas, the Greek equivalence of Anna Magnani, her expressive face alone can be so revealing and informative, as in ZORBA THE Greek (1964), another Kakogiannis film, words are powerless in front of her presence. But here, equipped with her mother tongue, she is in her full wings to bring Clytemnestra to life, an anguished mother fights bravely from her submissive position to defend her own blood, to no avail nevertheless, she shines in every scene. A solid theatrical background benefits Kazakos greatly in rendering gravitas to Agamemnon, but compared to Papas and Papamoschou, he is rather stiff and so are Mihalopoulos and Karras (who plays Menelaus, Helen's husband). Last but not the least, two thumbs-up for Theodorakis' engaging score, percussively rollicking during the frenetic spectacles and imposingly impassioned during the central narrative. Surely, only Greeks know how to cook up an authentic feast from a Greek tragedy, highly recommended!

There is some great drama, especially in the later part, but this has far too much filler. Especially near the beginning, it is ponderous and boring, with too many long views of the cast of thousands, and long closeups of staring faces. I fast forwarded over many sections which were nothing but people riding or walking or milling around, with no advancement of the story. The film would benefit with a good editing,The acting was generally wooden and unconvincing and reminded me of a poor copy of a De Mille sword & sandal epic. Only Iphegenia herself, later in the film was a convincing, moving performance.

Although the recent re-telling of part of Homer's epic "Troy" with Brad Pitt was entertaining once, "Iphigenia" with the incandescent Irene Pappas is breathtaking. Unfolding in a natural setting with Greek actors speaking their own language lends such authenticity. A chance encounter with this film on one of DirecTV's many movie channels kept me interested in spite of my concentration problems. There is no glitter or "bling" in this movie, just a fabulously rich story impeccably told by actors so real one feels they are eavesdropping on a real family in turmoil. I think even Homer, if he really existed, would be proud of this telling.JLH

My interest was raised as I was flipping through and saw the name Iphigenia. My name is Eugenia so I thought OK, lets see what this is. I am so glad I stayed on the channel. What a wonderful, wonderful story. Drama, sadness, some over the top acting but a wonderful time to be had. I watch this and it makes me sad for all the drivel the movie industry puts out and these beautiful little gems get passed over. Give Iphigenia a try and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. I have even gotten my children (27, 25, 20 and 17) to enjoy it. It starts slow, however, the drama builds and you will be drawn in to the story. Watching this lovely film made me want to shroud myself in more Greek tragedy and pathos.