"Death will be my wedding, children, and glory."
-Iphigenia, daughter of Agamemnon, bride of Achilles, and sacrifice of Greece.
Pictured above: Achiles, abandoned by his army, declaring he will fight against all of Greece for the life of his false bride, Iphigenia. Between them is Queen Clytemnestra in despair knowing her firstborn daughter is to be sacrificed for the greed of Greece and the lust of Troy.
This moment, I think, entirely encapsulates this film. A hero of legend cannot save an innocent girl who could have been his bride. A mother cannot stand against the weight of the Grecian Army. And a girl must bear the sins of her enemies.
Genuinely, this movie is great and my type of film. It's a tragedy, nothing can be done. Despite the best efforts of everyone who loves Iphigenia, she must die if the Greeks are to set sail for Troy which awaits them with riches unimaginable.
Agamemnon cannot stop this because it was his men who killed the sacred deer. Menelaus cannot stop this because it is the injury against his property (Helen) that gave pretext to this war. And if Iphigenia is not sacrificed then their homes will be burnt down by the very army her father leads.
But instead of going in grief, she goes with such quiet dignity that it had me bawling. What are you owed when the gods ordain your death? Only what you choose to take.
Tatiana Papamoschou was only 13 when she played this role. 13. Can you understand how monumental an ask this was? And she completes it so perfectly that I can't imagine anyone else doing it.
Can you imagine facing this at such a young age? In knowing that your homeland wants nothing more than your death, could you go forward and grant them their great victory clad in your bridal veil and crown?
This is not a grown woman. She's a girl. A child. A fucking child.
Also, great iteration of Odysseus who is conniving, cruel, and ambitious. This Ody definitely yeeted Astyanax off the wall without any regret.
Above, Odysseus leading the armies of Greek to sacrifice an innocent girl. The same Odysseus who foiled every effort of Achilles to save a young girl.
Finally, the dialogue is amazing. The confrontation between Menalus and Agamemnon is spectacular and full of raw emotion that is immediately surpassed by Irene Papas' incredible rendition of Clytemnestra confronting Agamemnon.
Clytemnestra to Agamemnon: I will speak without spin and innuendo. Knives are speaking at this point. You married me. How? With a crime. You wanted me. I never did. You killed my husband, Tantalus, and you kidnapped me, and when my brothers rushed for revenge, what did you do? You crawled at my father's feet. You crawled at my father's feet. You relied on a weak old man, asking for mercy, and mercy you got.
The monologue continues from there but I think you should go experience the sheer complex range of grief, rage, and regret on display. This is the part of the Greek myth that gets sanitized. This is the part we sand away as "too cruel for modern audiences" but this is the life the women in history lived.
Achilles has maybe 15 minutes in this film and his interactions are heart-wrenching. He is a gallant hero whose great flaw is in believing in the decency of his people: those he rules over and forced him to flee, those Atreides with the blood of heroes in their veins, and the entirety of Greece who are not barbarians.
Slightly before Iphigenia leaves for the altar in the film, Achilles makes a promise to her. He would be there if she changed her mind. Even if he would fight all of Greece, he would be there. And who stands before Iphigenia at the end but the greatest of heroes.
But Iphigenia has already made up her mind. There is no changing her path because in that moment, she carries the lives of her mother who fought for her, Achilles her could-have-been-husband, Orestes her brother who still has a chance to grow, her father who caused this terrible fate to befall her, and every Grecian King, soldier, and slave dragged into this war for another woman; a woman who is her aunt.
Remember, this is Iphigenia, daughter of Clytemnestra, friend to Achilles, and sister to Orestes. There are greater things than her life. And even if it ends in tragedy for those who stood by her, her sacrifice gave them years more to live.
I wonder if Helen ever thought about her niece when she was forced back to Greece.
Tangent: Christopher is a coward afraid of costuming and colour. These people look so good in their costumes. They feel lived in and authentic in a way that's not matched. The clothes look like they were hand-sewn and repaired and they get dirty and sweat-stained and the white robes immediately get dirtied by the sand and it's just so good to see some colour and contrast.
