Iphigenia
directed by Michael Cacoyannis
starring Tatiana Papamoschou, Irene Papas
Radiance Films
Michael Cacoyannis’ 1977 film, Iphigenia, is a visually striking and emotionally harrowing adaptation of Euripides’ Iphigenia in Aulis (~408 BCE). Powerfully acted and beautifully shot, it stands not only as a vivid rendering of Greek tragedy, but also as a potent rebuke of religion and war.
With their ships stranded at the port of Aulis, the Achaeans, lead by King Agamemnon and his two champions, Achilles and Odysseus, are waiting for favorable winds so they can set sail for war against Troy. While hunting for food to feed his men, Agamemnon kills one of the sacred deer of the goddess Artemis. A sacrifice must be made to atone for the sacrilege and to make the winds of war blow and release the Achaeans from their exile on Aulis. The sacrifice is to be Agamemnon’s youngest daughter, Iphigenia (Tatiana Papamoschou). Led to the port under the false pretense of marriage to Achilles, Iphigenia and her mother, Clytemnestra (Irene Papas), learn of her terrible fate. Heartbroken and terrified, Iphigenia tries in vain to alter her fate, seeking human or divine intervention. Realizing that she has been failed by the gods, her family, and the men of Achaea, Iphigenia ultimately accepts her fate on her own terms, as the winds begin to blow and the armies race to their ships without a second thought of the sacrifice made to launch them.
Although not part of Homer’s canon, Iphigenia’s story as the first and most innocent casualty of the Trojan War paints the heroes of ancient Greece in far less flattering light. Iphigenia’s dream of marriage and an adult life is shattered and replaced by a death she is coerced into presenting as heroic self-sacrifice. Her mother Clytemnestra’s rage and grief punctuate the inherent contradiction of the senseless death of her daughter and how huge, yet insignificant, it feels in the realization of the thousands of mothers that are going to lose their sons as soon as the winds blow again.
Beautifully staged on the rocky shores of Greece, which really helps to open up the stage-bound source material and keep it from feeling stodgy, director Cacoyannis stays true to Euripides while still creating a modern, entertaining film. Ultimately the film rests on the delicate shoulders of its 13-year-old star, Tatiana Papamoschou. She captivates from her first appearance in the film, with a face and eyes that convey so much emotion that you hardly need her dialogue to know what she is feeling. Her gradual realization that she is not in Aulis to wed Achilles but to pay for her father’s sin is as powerful as any of Irene Papas’ potent pleas and monologues. Together, their performances lay bare the capricious cruelty of both men and gods.
