[REL] Iphigenia (1977) [Greece]

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pillowbaker
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Re: [REL] Iphigenia (1977) [Greece]

Post by pillowbaker »   0 likes

Night457 wrote:Nuts? No, they were just tender-hearted like me!
Well, ya got me there! Careful though. Just give them an inch, and before you know it, you'll be telling me that they cancelled Socrates. :geek:

Funny you mention Agamemnon being such a bastard despite the adoration he receives from his daughters. While researching the whole sacfrice scenario, I kept seeing passages like this:
Through his actions and words in The Iliad, we can see that Agamemnon is not a great king at all. He's a strong warrior, and his physical prowess is not contested.
and
He is presented as a great warrior but selfish ruler, famously upsetting his invincible champion Achilles and so prolonging the war and suffering of his men.
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Re: [REL] Iphigenia (1977) [Greece]

Post by Night457 »   1 likes

pillowbaker wrote:you'll be telling me that they cancelled Socrates. :geek:
:lol: That is one word you can use, I guess. Juries are funny sometimes.

Agamemnon and his soldiers were all horny for battle, and that took precedence over everything else.

"Ohhh. Great warrior. Wars not make one great." - some philosopher I don't remember.
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Re: [REL] Iphigenia (1977) [Greece]

Post by Night457 »   1 likes

WOW, that was intense. Those ancient Greeks could cook up some powerful drama. I really really liked this, eventually finding myself mesmerized.

SPOILERS and all, just saying ... and some pretty strong opinions, probably offensive ...

Now that I watched it I managed to lower my opinion of the men in the story even more, as they mostly seem to be weak-willed lying sniveling gutless narcissists. Except for the soldiers, who are just bloodthirsty savages, motivated only by their desire to go overseas where they can kill all the women and rape all the men, or something like that. Gotta restore their honor and prove their manhood, ya know.

I loved the scene with the squabbling brothers Agamemnon and Menelaus, where the former told the latter that none of the leaders cared about his personal honor and the fact he was not man enough to keep his whore wife Helen satisfied! (Holy crap, was that a modern rewrite or was it in the original Euripides play?) The fact that she ran off with her boyfriend Paris was just an excuse for them to go to war and not the actual reason. I was hoping he would say "Helen's rather plain-looking, too!" But no such luck.

I was not surprised that Irene Papas as Clytemnestra (Iphigenia's mother) gave an incredibly moving and ferocious performance, since she has been terrific in everything else I have seen her in. But young Tatiana Papamoschou as Iphigenia was likewise powerful and completely won me over. I am not sure I agree with Iphigenia's ultimate choice, but I have to respect it. She is one tough gal.
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Re: [REL] Iphigenia (1977) [Greece]

Post by pillowbaker »   2 likes

You watched the movie! :mrgreen:! Although I am not the original poster of the REL, I do wanna say thank you for writing the review and I am genuinely excited you enjoyed it. And I thank you for sharing your opinions! Honestly, I don't see how they could be much in the of offensive, but enough about that! I know I have to get into a better habit of watching what it shared here as well! (I still have to tell popdrome how I enjoyed Das brandneue Testament).

Some of my thoughts. Tatiana indeed played a powerful character but was also charming in a way. And her mother was definitely a strong character and was well played. Even in the myths, the mother figures were sometimes outspoken during matters such as those presented in this film, as you'd obviously expect. As for the men in the story, I completely understand your feelings and I think, for a part, the story wants us to feel so strongly about them. However that sometimes leads characters such as these to be a bit one-sided, such as the villain archetype sometimes is. I hate seeing the antagonists without good motivation and being just characters that you're supposed to hate just because they're foaming-at-the-mouth evil!
Fortunately I don't feel like they made the men here quite so arbitrarily distasteful. I guess they had work that just had to get done and gods to please.

But you put it well. This is definitely more of a heavy drama (not that the usual OT films can't be dramas!).
Last edited by pillowbaker on Sat May 07, 2022 3:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: [REL] Iphigenia (1977) [Greece]

Post by Night457 »   1 likes

Well, you know, making disparaging remarks about mythological, possibly-historical figures from thousands of years ago can be dangerous. Some people take it personally. Maybe there are folks around now who take it very seriously as part of their cultural heritage, and I am not trying to insult them. From my point of view I am just evaluating a story. A pretty well-told one, too! But I will have harsh words about some of the characters.

It is really sad the number of films that *I* have shared and not watched yet. It is getting to the point that if I don't watch something within a week or so of downloading, it tends to get forgotten. There are so many potentially enjoyable films just waiting for me. Right now I am taking a break from rewatching a sitcom series I have seen multiple times. There is not much mental effort involved in following a 22-minute plot. I should be watching movies instead.

Agamemnon was not meant at all to be a villain, but a tragic (and therefore flawed) hero. I don't think his character is simplistic, but I do admit that my judgment of him maybe IS, probably because I long ago rejected his personal motivations as stupid and worthless. (That is my own unsympathetic prejudices there. Screw the gods!) I have not read the original Euripides play, so it is possible / likely that the director adapted it for more modern sensibilities and maybe he even intended to be somewhat critical of the traditional notions of heroism. Gotta keep it relevant, man.
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