Medea (1969)

Directed by

Pier Paolo Pasolini

Genre

drama film, fantasy film, pritcha

Country

West Germany, Germany, France, Italy

Runtime

1h 50m

Rated

12

Rating

6.6 of 10 from 191 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Maria Callas plays Medea, a woman betrayed by her husband Jason. She enacts a terrible revenge that destroys her own family.

mythicalbleakslow-burnoperaticdarkly poeticsombervisually lushtragic

What happens

Medea is a 1969 Italian film written and directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, based on the ancient myth of Medea. The film stars opera singer Maria Callas in her only film role and is largely a faithful portrayal of the myth of Jason and the Argonauts and the events of Euripides' play Medea. The film was received positively by critics but did not receive commercial success. According to film commentator Tony Rayns the film represents a committedly adversarial piece of art from the director who loved to challenge society. Rayns calls the film "a love song to Maria Callas" and describes the ending as "backing him (Pasolini) into a cul-de-sac" for the dark ending of the film which almost seems like a resignation from cultural production. Indeed, Pasolini's dramatic and adverse personality is very much alive in this film which depicts Medea's murder of her children born of Jason and his betrothed. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• The Wanton of Spain (1969)
• Tristana (1970)
• The Lady of Monza (1969)
• Zavolies (1969)
• Madame Bovary (1969)
• Der Vetter Basilio (1969)
• Soluna (1969)
• The Tragedy of Man (1969)