Medea - Directed by Passolini - Film Review

I watched a very old film - Medea - directed by Passolini. I watched it because it has a rare appearance by the famous Maria Callas and because I adore the Greek Myths. Maria reminds me a lot of the erstwhile Bollywood actress Sharmila Tagore. Like Tagore, Callas is quite beautiful. The film does not really follow the original plot line of the myth, but one gets the message - women can be dangerous to the men who cheat on them. The film has a philosophical bent - beginning as it does with the centaur who shares his wisdom with the growing Jason. At times you see him as a man, not a centaur (half horse, half man).

The setting of the film is surreal and beautiful in a barren, stark way. The costumes are truly alien. As is the rather irritating music. I love those little hills into which are carved windows and doors. These ancient Greeks live in the hills and greenery is hard to come by. In the original myth Medea. grand daughter of Helios, the Sun God, did not kill her children.

But ever since Euripides in his play, turned Medea into the murderess of her children, his version of the myth predominates. So Medea is a much misunderstood figure in Greek myth, although she does kill her brother for the love of the eventually unfaithful Jason, as well as Glace, his second wife and King Creon. Yet there is nothing as horrifying as killing one's own children. The movie is a must -see.

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Image Credit » Wikipedia Commons

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