Word: dassin
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Never on Sunday (Melinafilm; United Artists) is a rambunctious little politico-philosophical fable about The Virtuous Whore and The Quiet American. Written, produced and directed by Jules (Rififi, He Who Must Die) Dassin for a sum ($125,000) that would scarcely pay the light bill on the average Hollywood feature, Sunday has been playing to packed houses in Paris since last May. The title song of the picture is one of Europe's top tunes these days, and for her work as the leading lady-of-the-evening Greece's Melina (Stella) Mercouri was proclaimed 1960"s best...
...plot of the picture seems at a glance no more than a reroast of an old chestnut: the tale of the reformer reformed. The hero (portrayed by Director Dassin himself "because I couldn't afford to pay an actor to play the part") is an intellectual Boy Scout from Middletown, U.S.A., who takes a trip to Greece in the wide-eyed expectation that in the cradle of Western philosophy he will "find the truth." He finds instead a warmhearted, disrespectful prostitute (Actress Mercouri) who tumbles only for the men she likes, charges only what they are willing or able...
...Dassin's satire is obviously directed at the U.S., but his touch is light and his affection for the object of his satire unmistakable. Unlike his hero, Dassin is not trying to save anybody. He merely wants to suggest that the missionary mentality, which he believes to be an American complex, is at best childish and at worst ineffective. The idea is scarcely original, but Dassin expresses it in a wonderful rush of animal spirits and earthy humor. (Best bit: a scene in which an aging trollop recounts her favorite dream. "I get married to a man 84 years...
Much of the realistic force of the film is derived from the story's phsical setting. Dassin has drawn on the Greek town and its people, utilizing the inherent despair of Greek folk-songs to express the despair of the characters, the material poverty of the citizens to underline their poverty of hope. Dassin has also exploited the aged and hardened faces of his Greek extras by using their expresisons to punctuate his dialogue...
...audience is somewhat confused as to where worthiness lies within the film, it is not confused as to the worth of the film. Dassin has made a powerful movie of a powerful novel. Intellectually and emotionally compelling, the movie is a magnificent relief from aimless entertainment. It is one of the few recent movies that can qualify...