Cacoyannis, best know for directing the film Zorba the Greek (aka Alexis Zorbas) in 1964, explored some of its themes in this 1956 film, which stars Ellie Lambeti. She plays a young woman who is constantly harassed by the young bachelors who live on the island of Hydra because she refuses to marry any of them. When a worldly Athenian comes by and rents a room in her home, the rumors begin to fly. In The Girl in Black and A Matter of Dignity (and even Zorba the Greek), Cacoyannis demonstrates a perfect and natural ability to explore moral issues within the culture, as well as create believable and moving tragedy. The earlier films came straight from his imagination (Zorba was adapted from a novel), and they are the works of a great screenwriter, one of the best of the era. Cacoyannis' direction in these two films is also flawless. He did really well in Zorba, too. One wonders why his abilities aren't more highly considered. I would guess it is because these early films are fairly obscure nowadays. I guess he's an artist who deserves to be rediscovered.
Review of A Girl in Black
