An American scholar (Jules Dassin) in Greece meets earthy, happy prostitute Ilya (Melina Mercouri). He attempts to "reform" her and make her better.
The plot is old, clichéd and entirely predictable but this works. It shows what Greece (supposedly) was like in 1960 and you get caught up in the spirit of it. Everybody is happy, sex is seen as a great thing, everybody gets drunk and there's no problem with it and all the Greek men know how to dance and sing. It's actually refreshing to see a film that doesn't condemn all these things! Also Mercouri is just fantastic is Ilya. She's full of energy and fire and is drop dead gorgeous. It's hard to believe she was 40 when she did this! Also Tonio, her boyfriend (sort of), is played by the extremely handsome Giorgos Foundas. Him and Mercouri work well together and their scenes really sparkle. They also almost show Mercouri topless a few times and almost show Foundas nude also. These scenes are tame today but they must have been shocking in 1960. Mercouri also sings the title song in Greek.
The bad things--there's some badly overdubbed dialogue in the beginning (watch the fighting scene), Dassins' character is extremely annoying and unlikable and this was so predictable I started to get bored. Still it's pleasant and enjoyable. Slightly recommended.
The plot is old, clichéd and entirely predictable but this works. It shows what Greece (supposedly) was like in 1960 and you get caught up in the spirit of it. Everybody is happy, sex is seen as a great thing, everybody gets drunk and there's no problem with it and all the Greek men know how to dance and sing. It's actually refreshing to see a film that doesn't condemn all these things! Also Mercouri is just fantastic is Ilya. She's full of energy and fire and is drop dead gorgeous. It's hard to believe she was 40 when she did this! Also Tonio, her boyfriend (sort of), is played by the extremely handsome Giorgos Foundas. Him and Mercouri work well together and their scenes really sparkle. They also almost show Mercouri topless a few times and almost show Foundas nude also. These scenes are tame today but they must have been shocking in 1960. Mercouri also sings the title song in Greek.
The bad things--there's some badly overdubbed dialogue in the beginning (watch the fighting scene), Dassins' character is extremely annoying and unlikable and this was so predictable I started to get bored. Still it's pleasant and enjoyable. Slightly recommended.