A MATTER OF DIGNITY – Based on the script by Michael Cacoyannis – directed by Enke Fezollari
With “A Matter of Dignity”, Michael Cacoyannis composes a requiem about the decay and the decline of the cynical and superficial wealthy classes which were born from the ruins of the occupation and the civil war. Cacoyannis, with the precision of a surgeon and the sensitivity of a seismograph, records an era of meteoric moral downfall, and this is what places the film in the greatest moments of Greek neorealism. Its timeless value becomes more obvious today, where the end of an era of horrific illusion brings the entire country before a new set of lies.
Enke Fezollari, guided by the famous script, and using extra scenes which have not been included in the film, directs the performance, starring Andonis Fragakis, Nicole Dimitrakopoulou and Athina Tsilira. The director notes that this is a ‘story which dynamically maintains, throughout time, the realism and drama of that era. An era where people fought over a piece of bread, broken souls struggled to save what they could of themselves, where the bankrupt were neck-deep in lies and pretences. Ethics crumbled before disaster and with it a wealthy family of three members, on the brink of bankruptcy, resort to a series of lies in order to maintain their reputation: Is it possible to reach a goal without sacrificing morality? How far could someone go in order to achieve it? And is there any return thereafter?’
The plot
The action is focused upon a wealthy family who are witnessing the sever shaking of their financial foundations, as the factory they own is a breath away from bankruptcy. In the face of this dead-end, the frivolous but cynical mother, who cares only for social appearances, forces her only daughter into a marriage of convenience. Whilst Chloe, who although in love with another man, has made the difficult decision to sacrifice herself -as did Iphigenia – an unforeseen event comes as a catalyst to expose the hypocrisy of this decadent arrangement and destroy it.
