A Girl in black = To Koritsi me ta mavra [NTSC]

The first international Greek art-house success, “A Girl in Black” was filmed by Michael Cacoyannis on the Greek island of Hydra over eight weeks and using only one camera. The paucity of resources and budget, however, suit the intimate story of a young woman, Marina (Ellie Lambetti), whose mother’s promiscuity results in the community shunning the whole family. Cacoyannis would continue to explore the misogyny and sexism of traditional cultures in subsequent films, but on its release, “A Girl in Black” became a cause-celebre in Greece for daring to tackle the subject of women’s oppression on the Aegean islands. Marina’s dutiful suffering might appear melodramatic to a contemporary audience but there is no denying the still startling beauty of Walter Lassally’s cinematography which renders the lanes and cliffs of Hydra in such stark contrasts of black and white that the settings seem almost mythic in their majesty. Lambetti’s performance emerges largely from her expressive terrified eyes. Eleni Zafiriou’s portrayal of Mariana’s mother still challenges a contemporary audience, still so unused are we to representations of women’s sexual hunger. Though the script shares some of the patriarchal attitudes that it condemns in the islanders, Zafiriou transcends the filmmakers’ condemnation of the mother’s sexuality by imbuing her with humanity and tenderness. George Foundas is also equally fine as the macho fisherman whose rejection by Marina initiates the tragic events that unfold on the island. Winner of the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. In Greek with English subtitles.