Antigoni

Easy to define it as inspired adaptation of Sophocles play. The superb Antigone proposed by Irene Papas, Creod isolated in his convinctions and fears and presumed vulnerabilitz, well performed by Manos Katrakis , Maro Kodou as Ismene or Ilia Lyvikou as Euridyce are the good reasons to see it as exceptional adaptation.

But the basic reason remains the option of Giorgos Tzavellas to suggest a direct interogation to audience.

Gestures in name of justice.

Laws and attitudes.

Radical answers against injustice.

And falls.

Indeed, all known from the Old Greek or Philosophy classes , from lectures of early ages , from other adaptations.

But the strong virtue of Irene Papas to be one with her character , maybe the language itself , maybe the set are details giving to this Antigoni a profound special status . And this makes it real different.

Antigone, written by Sophocles, is a characteristic Greek tragedy where the city's king, Creon, is faced with a moral dilemma that eventually hastens his fall from grace. Set in antiquity, the movie's plot is designed to question presupposed ideas of justice and wisdom as they were seen through the ancient Greek perspective.

In the movie, the protagonist, Antigone, is faced with a moral dilemma after her king, Creon, orders that her brother should be left unburied (a terrible punishment in ancient Greek culture since it would prevent his passage through the river Styx). Eventually, Despite the king's decree, Antigone decided that her brother's death with-out burial was unjust and challenged Creon's authority to prevent his burial by performing the ritual herself. After the discovery of her crime, Creon sentences Antigone to death – an act that created a great deal of unpopularity in the kingdom and incited lines of questioning very similar to contemporary Socratic arguments.

Creon's decision to sentence Antigone to death and her brother to a hellish afterlife were seen as unjust and despotic by the people of Thebes and caused his wisdom/authority to be questioned. Since ancient Greeks believed that the Sovereign set the morality of their city state, the act of questioning alone represents Socratic argument. Sophocles sets up questioning, in a manner very similar to Socratic arguments made through Euthyphro and Apology, by using Creon's own son and oracle to test Creon's judgment in an attempt to show that just being a king does not make someone wise or knowledgeable of justice.

The morality of Antigone eventually surfaces after Creon's fall from grace. At the end of the movie, Creon finally sees the error of his ways but Sophocles uses his downfall to express how even king's judgment can be governed through hubris instead of actual wisdom.

It is true the more knowledge of the play by Sophocles and of Greek plays, in general, the more you can appreciate this rendition. However, the interesting thing about this presentation is you can start from ground zero and come away with everything the tragedy is about. Even though the story is well known, I will not go through it in case this is your first time.

There is an introduction to bring you up to date from Oedipus through his descendants and history to today where you meet Antigone and her sister Ismene. Their decisions are partially ordained and those of the new king Creon decide the outcome. You may find yourself quoting this play as you would Shakespeare's plays.

The reason for watching it multiple times is the first time around you may be busy reading the subtitles of which some flash and are gone. The second time around you may keep an eye on the acting. Third, you will get used to the Greek and even if you do not speak it, you will find much filled in that was not subtitled. By now you will be hooked and have to watch it periodically.

The play 'Antigone', written by Sophocles in 441 BC is not just a great piece of theatre but also raises political, ethical and philosophical issues which render it timeless. The blind Tiresias upbraids King Creon with 'All tyrants are gluttons for their ill-gotten power' and warns him that he will pay a terrible price for having denied Polyneices burial and condemning Antigone to entombment. Athenians at the time would certainly have related to the folly of tyranny. Unlike most 'absolute rulers' he relents but alas too late. This is a very accomplshed adaptation by writer/director Yorgos Tzavallas with a fine score by Argyris Kournadis. The cast is uniformly excellent. The striking Irene Papas, no stranger to tragic Greek heroines on both stage and screen, deservedly won an award at the Berlin International Film Festival for her performance as Antigone. Her character arouses our sympathy but one should not forget that her grim fate and the play's tragedy stems as much from her own stubbornness as from Creon's intractability. Manos Katrakis is absolutely stupendous as Creon. He too was recognised for his performance at the International Film Festival in San Francisco. Papas and Katrakis went on to excel in 'Electra' for Cacoyannis two years later. One does not have to be a classical scholar to appreciate this first class film but should seeing it arouse ones interest in the wonders of Greek tragedy then it has more than served its purpose.

This film, seen in my youth, has etched itself indelibly into my psyche. Achingly bleak, this story of a sister's love is portrayed in a classical style, with Irene Pappas powerfully projecting the character of the title role. This is a worthwhile way to use your valuable time.