Jamais le dimanche

Melina Mercouri, "The Last Greek Goddess", stars in the comedy "Never on Sunday"(1960) directed/written by Jules Dassin. She plays Illia, the most sensuous and radiant "lady of the night" in the seaport Pyres where every man adores her and she is the one who chooses her partners. Mercouri was 40 years old when she played Illia but she did not hide a single day of her age and she was gorgeous, full of the inner fire and absolutely irresistible. When the new Pygmalion, the intellectual American named Homer (of course) sails into the town and meets Illia, he decides that his search for meaning of life would end in Pyres if he would reform Illia and make her change her way of life. With all his intellect and education he couldn't understand a very simple truth about Illia - only true love might change her. Homer played by director/writer Jules Dassin is the weakest part of this mostly charming comedy. I agree with one of the IMDb commenters who said that "Jules Dassin has directed a great movie but he should have hired an actor to play Homer, and not played it himself... A better actor might have found a way around the rough spots but Dassin magnifies them." I guess that in real life Dassin was much more charming that in the film because he and Mercouri were married in 1966 and stayed married until her death in 1994.

7.5/10

Never on Sunday is a beautiful, down to earth, romantic comedy. It's a feel-good movie without the Hollywood over-sweetness. A well to do American is educated by a Greek courtesan who is not so sophisticated but full of life. And life proves to be more important then money or sophistication. And there even is a happy ending even though is one with a tear, if you a a sucker for such things. The music is prefect. The title-song is just great. The scenery makes you want to got to Greece for your next holiday. In an nutshell; this is one Greek Delight. Watch it on a cold Sunday and you'll get all warm inside. Watch it on a hot summers-night and you'll believe your in Greece already.

SYNOPSIS: A well educated American tourists attempts to 'enlighten' a Greek prostitute in a small seaside village.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER Newer is not always better, and sometimes over analyzing a problem can only make it worse. Leave well enough alone. It is more important to be happy than to understand everything.

PROS AND CONS Every recent prostitute film from 'Irma la Duce' to 'Pretty Woman' owes a lot to this work. It was one of the first films that shed light on the idea that prostitution was a respectable and acceptable way to make a living.

If nothing else this film is a homage by Jules Dassin to his wife, Melina Mercouri. She is the focus of the film and she captivates any scene she is in with her zest for life and smoldering sexuality. The other thing you tend to fall in love with is the romantic ideal of living in Greece in 1960. It appears care free, relaxed and almost infectious with its love of the simple life.

The plot of the film is not overly complex and deals with an outsider, Homer (Dassin) arriving in town to study Greek culture. He is almost immediately captivated by Ilya (Mercouri) as one of the local prostitutes that 'freelances' and does not work for the town pimp. She negotiates a price with whomever she chooses, and sleeps with all the towns vendors in exchange for her daily goods (food, wine, drinks, etc), but she never 'works' on Sunday. Hence the title to the film.

Homer is smitten by Ilya and decides that he must 'save' her from what he perceives as a wretched life that is going no where and decides to educate her so that she can see the error of her ways. In the end, this does nothing but frustrate everyone in town. The education of Ilya does have a silver lining, which if anything, leaves the town more corrupted than when Homer found it.

The underlying theme of the film is that one should strive to be happy in what you do and more importantly, who you know. There is an interconnection between people in a small town, and disrupting those connections may lift some people up, but is not good for the whole of society. Regardless of his meddling, the towns people never turn on Homer, or blame him for anything. At their core, they know that life is to be enjoyed and blaming people for your troubles is just not part of the mix.

One of my all-time favorite movies! Coming from the 50's generation, I remember seeing this movie when I was a teenager and being absolutely fascinated by the Greek setting, music and dancing. I believe that this movie contributed to my interest in foreign movies to this day. The song "Never on Sunday" was very popular on the radio in the 60's. If you don't remember it now, you probably will, once you hear it.

The story line in this movie is clever and charming. The variety of characters pull you right into the story. It's dramatic, funny and at the same time, romantic. Tame by today's standards, this movie must have been considered very risqué for its time, but it remains entertaining to this day.....timeless!!! A must-see for old movie buffs.

Melina Mercouri takes an often-played role - the 'Whore with a Heart of Gold who Loves Life Despite It All' - and makes it her career-defining movie role, and she is the entire reason to watch the movie. Fiercely independent, sexually progressive, not spending her life trying to find the perfect man and gorgeous, she's a force of life.

Jules Dassin has directed a great movie but he should have hired an actor to play Homer, and not played it himself. He almost ruins all the charm the movie has going for it with his ineffective acting, bad line readings and stupid motivations. A better actor might have found a way around the rough spots but Dassin magnifies them.

Mercouri probably should have won Best Actress that year, but who can beat a Liz Taylor death scare? Plus Simeone Signoret had won Best Actress the year before, and Sophia Loren would win the following year..you don't want to upset icons like Louella Parsons, Frank Sinatra and John Wayne by giving ALL the Oscars to foreigners, do you?? Maybe the fact that she does not die at the end was too much..we all know the odds of longevity for a hooker in a Hollywood movie. Taylor met that criteria, as if she needed to help her own odds after almost dying of pneumonia.

Worth watching for sure. 8/10.