Most people agree that war is a terrible thing. And then add: "But sometimes it's necessary." As a pacifist and Vietnam-Era draft resister, I have noticed that there are not many films that manage to actually be "anti-war." This is one of the few. Most films that set out to show that "war is a really terrible thing," fall into the trap of making us feel that the protagonists' sacrifice is somehow a noble one. This goes all the way back to Homer and the Iliad, which inspired the play by Euripides, upon which this film is based. Why this works as an "anti-war" film, is because it doesn't forefront any soldiers in battle, or otherwise. The central action of the play is the very deliberate murder of a small boy.
Of course in "real life" all the children killed in war in killed by accident. They are simply the unavoidable "collateral damage," as the euphemism has it. War stories are mostly stories of soldiers in battle. This is the story of the victims--the Trojan women who are now the slaves of the conquering Greeks.
As an actor, I was especially impressed by the acting of Vanessa Redgrave as Andromache, and Irene Papas as Helen. The material Katherine Hepburn has to work with in the beginning of the film is not too promising. But in the final scene, when she is given the body of her grandson for burial, she does a magnificent job.
We can't end war by simply protesting against it. A love revolution is required. Works of art can sometimes help us by opening our hearts and awakening compassion in us. Thank you to Euripides and Michael Cacoyannis and to this great ensemble of women actors.
Of course in "real life" all the children killed in war in killed by accident. They are simply the unavoidable "collateral damage," as the euphemism has it. War stories are mostly stories of soldiers in battle. This is the story of the victims--the Trojan women who are now the slaves of the conquering Greeks.
As an actor, I was especially impressed by the acting of Vanessa Redgrave as Andromache, and Irene Papas as Helen. The material Katherine Hepburn has to work with in the beginning of the film is not too promising. But in the final scene, when she is given the body of her grandson for burial, she does a magnificent job.
We can't end war by simply protesting against it. A love revolution is required. Works of art can sometimes help us by opening our hearts and awakening compassion in us. Thank you to Euripides and Michael Cacoyannis and to this great ensemble of women actors.