Underplayed Gems

Never on Sunday (1960)

Never on Sunday poster
Original title
Ποτέ την Κυριακή
Directed by
Jules Dassin
Genre
drama film, romantic comedy
Country
Greece
Runtime
1h 31m
Rated
6
Rating
6.9 of 10 from 76 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

An American scholar tries to reform a Greek prostitute who is happy with her life. She instead tries to teach him how to relax and enjoy himself.

lightheartedcharmingupbeatwhimsicalplayfulsunnyearthy

What happens

Never on Sunday (Greek: Ποτέ την Κυριακή, Poté tin Kyriakí) is a 1960 Greek romantic comedy film starring, written by, and directed by Jules Dassin. The film tells the story of Ilya, a contented Greek prostitute (Melina Mercouri), and Homer (Dassin), an earnest American classicist. Homer attempts to steer her toward morality, while Ilya attempts to make Homer more relaxed. The original screenplay examines the impact of intellectual imperialism upon indigenous joie de vivre. It constitutes a variation of the Pygmalion plus "hooker with a heart of gold" story. The film's bouzouki theme became a hit, and the film won the Academy Award for Best Original Song (Manos Hadjidakis for "Never on Sunday"). It was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Mercouri), Best Costume Design, Black-and-White, Best Director, and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay as Written Directly for the Screen (both Dassin). Mercouri won the award for Best Actress at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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