Thanks for the memories!

Purely Joyful Movie!

Let's be realistic.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

One of the greatest comedies of all time, Never on Sunday is an excellent examination of cultural imperialism and the clash between two very different outlooks.The character of Homer has the limitation of being unwilling to see the world through any other eyes but his own: his narrow-mindedness means he cannot see the very thing he is seeking on his quest. The Greeks have moved beyond a search for the truth, being content in their carefree lifestyle. The imperialist ambitions of ancient Athens are no longer a concern for them but, for the Americans, just setting out on their empire building, they are a priority.Homer's attempts to force the Greek population to fit his image of what they should be is an attempt at this very imperialism. Once the cradle of civilisation, he feels they should now conform to his world-view. Informed by the puritans and ancient philosophies long-rejected by the Greeks themselves, he forces himself onto a society onto which he cannot be grafted.He has the arrogance of an academic and does not understand human beings. His attempts at bettering Melina's character are attempts to force her to see his world-view. His belief he is truly bettering her is self-delusion.However, it is not solely the American character who imposes his view on others. Throughout the course of the film, the Greek port is visited in turn by the US, British and Russian naval fleets. Greece is clearly subjugated to each of these military empires now yet, somehow, it remains a happy place for they depart soon after, leaving the locals largely unaffected by their impositions.Melina's character's zest for life famously extends to the Greek tragedies. With the film's play within a play, she famously reinterprets the tragedy to conform to her world-view. Homer reacts angrily to this even though he is trying to force actual people to conform to his. (One has to wonder if Roland Barthes' "Death of the Author", published just seven years later was in anyway inspired by the ideas in this film of the audience constructing, albeit humorously, their own meaning and interpretation of the text.) The film's pace is fast and light-hearted and the many outdoor scenes reflect Melina's character's sunny mood. The soundtrack again is sprightly and energetic, encapsulating a zest for life and the film was exceptionally well-cast and acted.In the end, Homer of course achieves the aim of his quest by learning, when in Greece, do as the Greeks do. The simple lesson that it is love that will reform the girl is almost banal but here it works. She must be cared for and nurtured not forced to submit to the will of a foreigner.Ultimately, it is the comedy and the light-hearted way in which the moral of the story is expressed that makes this film delightful. Perfectly filmed and still humorous and highly relevant over fifty years after its release, this is one of the great comedies and one that this reviewer highly recommends.

The plot resembles that of "Born Yesterday," in which an intellectual tries to reform a low-brow woman. Except that this is not about Judy Holliday but about Melina Mercouri, a Greek whore who likes her life style and believes that every story ends happily. The film is drenched in the Greek pop tunes of Manos Hatzidakis, so much so that it's almost a musical. For a while the theme song was heard everywhere. It's in black and white but no one should be put off by the infrequent subtitles.I was surprised to find I could understand some of the Greek. Years ago I had a class in the language. I don't like to brag but one day the class was reciting in unison some phrases that the instructor from Athens was trying to implant in our indolent brains and he interrupted the lesson. Pointing to me, he asked, "You -- you are Greek?" No. "Your parents, they are Greek?" No. "That's funny because you have a perfect Athenian accent." Later, after studying other languages, I found I had no talent for learning them at all. My talent was for imitating the voices of other people, like an impressionist. It had been the instructor who'd had the "perfect Athenian accent". Now, you may think that this anecdote has absolutely nothing to do with a review of the movie, but that's only because you aren't thinking about it enough. Give it some effort and -- well, it's pretty deep.Junes Dassin, the director and male lead, is Homer Thrace, the idealistic Grecophile who comes to Piraeus to discover what made the Ancient Greeks so hot, in hopes that, having found the answer, the whole unhappy world of 1960 can be transformed. The greatest pleasure, said Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, is found in the exercise of the mind. Dassin takes Mercouri under his tutelage for two weeks and tries to transform her, to persuade her to shed her Jungian sensation-type ways and get with the usual program -- Bach's cello solos, Picasso, the climate of Iceland.He's got a tough job. Mercouri has a way of keeping herself happy no matter what's going on. She loves to see performances of "Medea," a terrible tragedy about a jealous, bitchy wife who slaughters her own children out of spite. In Mercouri's interpretation, Medea was lying about the murders just to get her husband's attention. "Oedipus Rex" is a happy play because it's about a man's love for his mother. Everything always ends happily and "they all go to the sea shore." At times it's very amusing.In the end, Dassin is defeated by Mercouri and the other whores who line the streets of Piraeus, as in fact they did at the time. Dassin loses his expression of awe, gets drunk, does a silly dance with the others in the tavern and shouts at Mercouri, "You're beautiful -- but you're dumb." She's not really so dumb. After all, she belongs to an established cinematic genre -- the happy peasant. The movies are full of them. Nationality doesn't count. They all share the same habits. They're happy in their work (usually having something to do with the earth), they sing, they dance, they eat with gusto (al fresco, weather permitting), they smile, they love life, they wear colorful costumes, and they don't mind a drink now and again. The only time they're serious is when they attend some religious ritual.Dassin isn't really much of an actor. He overacts, but then so does Melina Mercouri and just about everyone else, so it hardly detracts from an appreciation of the film. Mercouri is not stunningly beautiful, and she's burdened with a somewhat abrasive voice, but she has a splendid, long-limbed figure and her character is full of charm.Dassin the screenwriter has injected some thought-provoking exchanges into the dialog but they're pretty lightweight and get lost somewhere along the way in this story of a whore who has found that the greatest happiness comes from acceptance and love, not from Bach's cello solos. There's a downside to this attitude, of course, but the movie doesn't bring it up. Living for the moment leads to neglect of the past, not just of Plato but of his sacred olive tree which sits abandoned except for a small circular fence next to a noisy and smoggy highway. And the marble of the Acropolis sizzles in the acid rain like a giant Alka Seltzer.

I'm surprised at the grim take some reviewers have on this film. The misconceptions about it being "shocking" in 1960 are amusing. It wasn't; by this time US audiences were veterans of home-grown films showing rape/incest ("Peyton Place"), drug addiction, urban violence, etc. Only people who weren't there think "Happy Days" is a reflection of the 50s, in many ways a dark, confused decade. The prim suburbanism, the emphasis on respectable conformity, was in part a defensive mask, which was always slipping. The year NOS came out was not only the start of a new decade, but was on the cusp of a transition toward more open social attitudes, and I think that was one reason the film was such a hit. Take a look at the marketing: the late 40's-50s saw a LOT of H'wood movies sold as shocking/graphic/dirty, but NOS was presented as fun. The Cannes award for Mercouri earlier (in May; US release was in Oct), Dassin's name as a prestige director, and its Greekness shielded it from the sleaze approach. The main character being a prostitute was not sensationalized, appropriate as the film didn't sensationalize it either. Dassin's Homer, a gently goofy parody of a naive American provincial let loose in the big bad Old World, is the only one who's negative about Ilya's profession. As she says, "Oh, Homer, I think you have big problems with your morals." NOS is a romantic vision of personal freedom working for the best: Ilya can conduct her business independently because her clients are also friends who will protect her from the local gangster - and her clients are friends because that's the way she conducts her business, on a basis of personal liking and trust rather than the bottom line. She's constructed a modus operandi that brings her freedom and happiness, and doesn't like sad things (like Greek tragedy!) to intrude. Of course it's a fable; it takes place in a circumscribed neighborhood world where that kind of personal relationship can rule, and the only downside for Ilya seems to be her uncertainty whether she is "someone who it is good to love" now that she's feeling more deeply for her lover Tonio - which is why she lets Homer try his experiment. But once she sees he's let himself be corrupted she's on her feet, and fighting.Side note: several reviewers expressed surprise that a 40 year old female could be sexy on screen. (Does anyone believe women in real life somehow stop being sexual or attractive the second they pass 39??) Not sure where this comes from, unless it's the general pop culture of the last 30-40 years that's diminished the role of personality in female screen stardom. Adult moviegoers in the 60s - even high-school kids like me - had grown up seeing great stars of both sexes projecting sex, emotion, and vitality well past their 20s and 30s.

SYNOPSIS: A well educated American tourists attempts to 'enlighten' a Greek prostitute in a small seaside village.CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER Newer is not always better, and sometimes over analyzing a problem can only make it worse. Leave well enough alone. It is more important to be happy than to understand everything.PROS AND CONS Every recent prostitute film from 'Irma la Duce' to 'Pretty Woman' owes a lot to this work. It was one of the first films that shed light on the idea that prostitution was a respectable and acceptable way to make a living.If nothing else this film is a homage by Jules Dassin to his wife, Melina Mercouri. She is the focus of the film and she captivates any scene she is in with her zest for life and smoldering sexuality. The other thing you tend to fall in love with is the romantic ideal of living in Greece in 1960. It appears care free, relaxed and almost infectious with its love of the simple life.The plot of the film is not overly complex and deals with an outsider, Homer (Dassin) arriving in town to study Greek culture. He is almost immediately captivated by Ilya (Mercouri) as one of the local prostitutes that 'freelances' and does not work for the town pimp. She negotiates a price with whomever she chooses, and sleeps with all the towns vendors in exchange for her daily goods (food, wine, drinks, etc), but she never 'works' on Sunday. Hence the title to the film.Homer is smitten by Ilya and decides that he must 'save' her from what he perceives as a wretched life that is going no where and decides to educate her so that she can see the error of her ways. In the end, this does nothing but frustrate everyone in town. The education of Ilya does have a silver lining, which if anything, leaves the town more corrupted than when Homer found it.The underlying theme of the film is that one should strive to be happy in what you do and more importantly, who you know. There is an interconnection between people in a small town, and disrupting those connections may lift some people up, but is not good for the whole of society. Regardless of his meddling, the towns people never turn on Homer, or blame him for anything. At their core, they know that life is to be enjoyed and blaming people for your troubles is just not part of the mix.