'Iphigenia' is the great achievement of Greek Director Michalis Kakoyannis (who died a few days ago 25-7-11). This wonderful film is masterfully adapted for the screen and brought to life by a wonderful cast. Kakoyannis achieved the impossible. He managed to film a Greek tragedy to screen without losing its effectiveness and importance. A great Greek cast helps him in this. Tatiana Papamoschou (newcomer) is extremely impressive as Iphigenia. Equally impressive is Irene Papas, who even though she sometimes seems over the top, it is very realistic. A wonderful Greek film beautifully adapted and directed by Michael Kakoyannis, with an excellent music score by Mikis Theodorakis which is ideal in every scene. This film and the story it narrates offer considerable insight into the lost world of ancient Greek thought that was the crucible for so much of our modern civilization. It teaches us much about ourselves as individuals and as social and political creatures. Euripides questions the value of war and patriotism when measured against the simple virtues of family and love, and reflects on woman's vulnerable position in a world of manly violence. In his adaptation of Euripides' tragedy, Kakoyannis revisits all of these themes with a modern, clear, and dramatic fashion. And the big question: Is it a sacrifice or a murder, and how can we tell the difference between the two? By focusing on the violent and primitive horror of a human sacrifice--and, worst of all, the sacrifice of one's own child - Euripides/Kakoyannis creates a drama that is at once deeply political and agonizingly personal. It touches on a most complex and delicate ethical problem facing any society: the dire conflict between the needs of the individual versus those of the society. In the case of Iphigenia, however, as in the Biblical tale of Abraham and Isaac, the father is asked to kill his own child, by his own hand. What sort of God would insist on such payment? Can it be just or moral, even if divinely inspired? Finally, does the daughter's sacrificial death differ from the deaths of all the sons and daughters who are being sent to war? These are many deep questions raised by a two-hour film.

Welcome to Middleton. A very happy place to live. Just beware of deer crossing. The sign is clear .... ok and of course the missing body parts. On one very strange night, in this typical american town a young man is talking on a cellphone with someone. He is very drunk. The music on the radio is loud and blaring. You can tell by the dashboard clock that it is 11:13. Very suddenly and very loudly something smashes against the windshield. This is no deer. What is it? Nothing will be the same anymore.... Chance and happenstance is the key to this psychotic, frantic, comedic, twisted story or is it five stories. ???

This excellent black drama is a must see despite its nearly three-hour running time, the movie is one of the most watchable and enjoyable pieces of art in Egyptian Cinema.