This early Cacoyannis film, both written and directed by him, is an interesting "La Dolce Vita" -esque take on the nouveau riche of post WWII Greece. Although characters range from sketchy to almost fleshed out, motivation and detail are lacking, thus weakening the impact of the film.
Chloe (Ella Lambeti) learns that her parents are almost bankrupt. What has been a harmless flirtation with a Greek-American millionaire, Nikos Dritsas (Minas Christidis), suddenly takes on new meaning as her parents are counting on her to save them and their society reputation by marrying him and his millions. She is attracted to a man she meets at a party, Galanos (Michalis Nikolinakos)and they fall for each other. She suddenly has an alternative to the life mapped out for her and is in conflict.
Subplot involves a devoted servant, Katerina (Eleni Zafeiriou), who has been loyal for twenty years, and been unpaid for some time. When she must go to a village to care for her son who has suffered a concussion, the rich family totally forget her. Returning with him, she angrily confronts both mother and daughter. This is as far as I will go because any further disclosure would be a spoiler. All of the above information has already been posted on this IMDb site.
Although Lambeti does a good job conveying conflict and emotion, we never really understand who she is or what she values. She is not portrayed as enough of a hedonist to be contemplating the marriage as a way to ensure her life style. Her loyalty to her family is in question as well - her father is against her sacrifice; her mother is for it. The love affair with Galanos is unconvincing and their scenes are very few. Never understanding what the protagonist is thinking or feeling makes it almost impossible to relate or identify with either her or her plight.
The film drags on for 101 minutes, very slow moving and dull - almost as if everyone is sleep walking. Very close to the end we suddenly get an eruption of emotion which wakes us up and we hope for the usual Cacoyannis catharsis, but alas, all quiets down again rather quickly. The confrontation scene and its aftermath provide the only solidly fine drama, acting, writing and cinematography.
An interesting film, but a flawed film. Worthy of being seen by fans of Cacoyannis, but probably not worth a great deal of interest to average film goers.
Chloe (Ella Lambeti) learns that her parents are almost bankrupt. What has been a harmless flirtation with a Greek-American millionaire, Nikos Dritsas (Minas Christidis), suddenly takes on new meaning as her parents are counting on her to save them and their society reputation by marrying him and his millions. She is attracted to a man she meets at a party, Galanos (Michalis Nikolinakos)and they fall for each other. She suddenly has an alternative to the life mapped out for her and is in conflict.
Subplot involves a devoted servant, Katerina (Eleni Zafeiriou), who has been loyal for twenty years, and been unpaid for some time. When she must go to a village to care for her son who has suffered a concussion, the rich family totally forget her. Returning with him, she angrily confronts both mother and daughter. This is as far as I will go because any further disclosure would be a spoiler. All of the above information has already been posted on this IMDb site.
Although Lambeti does a good job conveying conflict and emotion, we never really understand who she is or what she values. She is not portrayed as enough of a hedonist to be contemplating the marriage as a way to ensure her life style. Her loyalty to her family is in question as well - her father is against her sacrifice; her mother is for it. The love affair with Galanos is unconvincing and their scenes are very few. Never understanding what the protagonist is thinking or feeling makes it almost impossible to relate or identify with either her or her plight.
The film drags on for 101 minutes, very slow moving and dull - almost as if everyone is sleep walking. Very close to the end we suddenly get an eruption of emotion which wakes us up and we hope for the usual Cacoyannis catharsis, but alas, all quiets down again rather quickly. The confrontation scene and its aftermath provide the only solidly fine drama, acting, writing and cinematography.
An interesting film, but a flawed film. Worthy of being seen by fans of Cacoyannis, but probably not worth a great deal of interest to average film goers.