To teleftaio psemma

Michael Cacoyannis was probably the first Greek director to attain international stardom, with native films such as "Stella" (1955) and "The Girl In Black" (1956), as well as later internationl productions such as "Zorba The Greek" (1964). "A Matter Of Dignity" (1958) is a lesser-known Cacoyannis drama which is a little more cliched (love vs. Money), a little blander and less effective than his best works, although Ellie Lambeti shows a magnificent presence as well as great acting chops. **1/2 out of 4.

In preparation for a trip to Greece I've been renting all the Greek movies I can find, (alas, it's only a handful) but luckily in Santa Fe we have a wonderful foreign film video rental place that happened to have this film. Usually I try and keep my expectations low but I was pleasantly surprised to discover this black and white gem and more particularly the beautiful Elli Lambeti. She's Audrey Hepburn's tragic Greek shadow. Cacoyannis' political pretensions aside (some have indicated the movie is an indictment of the corrupt postwar middle-class)the film is riveting as human drama and Lambeti shines as a young woman torn between her loyalty to her parents and her deeper commitment to the truth. Alas, Lambeti made far too few films before her death in 1983. Based on this film alone her achievement is solid. A great actress.