WOMAN WITH GOLDEN HAIR (THE)


View at Tainiothiki tis Ellados
  • Other title(s): GIRL WITH THE GOLDEN HAIR (THE)
  • Genre: Feature Film
  • Year: 1978
  • Description: A pretty young woman (Vera Krouska), who is the widow of an emigrant to Germany, moves to Zakynthos with her daughter. She has an affair with the progressive teacher of a village and helps him with the revival of a folk drama. Finally, after innumerable difficulties, the prejudice and intolerance of the locals force her to leave the island, while the woman’s violent and reactionary father-in-law ends up killing the teacher.
    1. OPENING TITLES 1. Opening titles (we listen to a traditional song of Zakynthos).)
    2. INTRODUCTION: ELENI’S ARRIVAL AT THE VILLAGE AND HER ACQUAINTANCE WITH THE TEACHER A taxi on a country road of the island. Eleni (Vera Krouska), an emigrant to Germany, returns with her daughter to the village of her husband, who was killed in an accident at work. The taxi driver proudly shows her the mansions of Zakynthos. In the mountainous village, a neighbor welcomes them, opening her husband’s homestead: "Let me treat you something". Eleni’s father in law, Giannis Sempros (Vangelis Kazan) arrives: a stocky, rough guy who works at the Count’s mansion. Eleni goes to the city on foot, accompanied by her daughter. She meets some young men, among them Panagiotis, a former emigrant to Munich, where he worked at a radio factory. They offer her to take her to the city on a tractor. Eleni and her daughter sit on the tractor’s carrier and are on the way to the city. Her father in law, who works at the Count’s mansion, an old ruined house, watches them and says: "Instead of being taken care of by my son, I am burdened by his widow and his orphan..., as they used to say in the old days, one born a peasant, is always hit by life". The Count, who is close to him, listens to his grievance and tries to console him, saying that his granddaughter looks a lot like him. As Sempros ties his goat, a gypsy’s pick-up passes by, loaded with plastic buckets. From the loudspeaker a gypsy song is heard out loud. Giannis Sempros accompanies his granddaughter to school. He gives her away to the teacher (Antonis Katsaris) and shows his rage, as he talks: “Make her learn Greek, so that she stops that foreign stuff, those satanic words she says!”. In a schoolclass, the village authorities (president of the community, policeman, priest etc.) and some of the villagers attend a lecture on hygiene: toilets made of porcelain. The teacher bravely takes this opportunity to refer to the serious problems faced by the school (water running from the roof etc). At the same time, he proposes the revival of the practice of the “talks”. At the end of the school day, Eleni meets the teacher. Her daughter has no talent in either Greek or German. She only likes to paint, always the same subject: the factory where her father was killed. The teacher, talking about the custom of the “talks”, places on the board drawings with the costumes that correspond to the play’s parts. Eleni shows her willingness to help in sawing the costumes. (ZAKYNTHOS – COUNTRY ROAD - MOUNTAIN VILLAGE - HOMESTEAD- COUNT’S MANSION – SCHOOL)
    3. AS THE VILLAGE IS PUZZLED ABOUT THE UPCOMING REVIVAL OF THE CUSTOM OF THE THEATRICAL PERFORMANCES, THE TEACHER AND ELENI MEET AND MAKE LOVE Evening. Sempros walks into the village’s coffeehouse. A trendy pop Italian song plays on the radio, Sempros asks the coffeehouse keeper a few things about the elections: in the old days, they used to vote for whomever the Count selected. Sempros sits next to his master, watching television. The priest (Nikos Alevras) asks them to support the attempt for the revival of the theater. They play cards: the losers will take care of the expenses for the show. A Greek-American takes a Polaroid photo. Night. The teacher takes Eleni to a restaurant on his motorbike. At the sound of the romantic songs played by the orchestra, the couple seems to be in love. Eleni steps on the stage and sings: «You left me and closed down a home». Night. On their return from the nightclub, they kiss. They go to the school and make love in an empty classroom. As she gets dressed, Eleni narrates to the teacher her life in the village, as a young girl. Back then, there was no electricity, no work, no doctor. In 1968 she got her papers ready to go to Germany. (COFFEEHOUSE – NIGHTCLUB – SCHOOL)
    4. SOCIAL OPPOSITION, CLASS DIFFERENCES AND PREJUDICE ABOUT SEX PUT ELENI AND THE TEACHER IN A DIFFICULT POSITION AND MAKE THINGS DIFFICULT WITH THE SHOW 6The elderly Count along with the teacher are in the courtyard of the decrepit mansion. The fallen nobleman murmurs in four languages. He tells the teacher in Greek that he helped him transfer here because he cares for his land. The villagers bargain their land with the Germans in order to build hotels: "Teacher, help them put their thoughts in order". At her father-in-law’s house, Eleni does the laundry. Sempros, scandalized at the sight of her lingerie, tells her that "women don’t let their panties out to dry..., life in a foreign land spoils people". The Count and the teacher return to the village on foot. The fallen nobleman says in pain "The flower of the west turn int cement, from one place to the other. The palazzo was burned in the earthquakes, along with the rest of the city". They meet the priest and ask his aid for the church. In the Count’s house that is falling apart, the old nobleman narrates to the teacher the reasons that led his family to financial decline. He also refers to the repercussions of gambling. The teacher and Eleni visit the olive press to get oil for the Count. A worker who seems to be in charge there talks to the teacher about the difficulty of staging the “talks” in earlier times. He seem to be angry at the Count and begins to plead. The talks should not caress the nobles and those in power. Throughout his life he fought to get rid of the masters. As the couple leaves, the workers at the oil press spell out verses about the rich. Rehearsals for the performance take place in a classroom. The teacher plays the part of the woman with golden hair.: "My loving heart feels no fear". Eleni comes along with Panagiotis, who is dressed as a nobleman for his part. A gramophone plays a tune from an Italian opera outside the count’s house. Old furniture and works of art are loaded on the gypsy’s truck. The latter gives back plastic buckets in exchange. After class, the children, among them Eleni's daughter, go to a remote bridge and explore their sexuality. Sempros, who is taking a walk with the Count, sees his granddaughter’s belongings and hears her laughter, vivid and with a flirtatious hint. He begins to chase them, they run away. The school superintendent with his entourage, alarmed talks to the children against the principles of sexual education introduced by the so-called modern people. The Greek educators have to be tough on the young exhibitionists. There is talk about the upcoming performance, while the priest arrives for the opening ceremony of the new toilets. The hoisting of the flag follows. Some villagers throw dynamite into the sea. The teacher and Eleni, who pass by that spot on the motorbike, express their opposition to fishing using dynamite. They begin to reply in verse, while they return to the village all together. Upon his return home, Sempros calls out Eleni. She isn’t there. He takes his gun and begins to examine it. He goes through her clothes, smells and caresses her lingerie, expressing his fetishism. He tears a panty and uses it to clean his gun, as he murmurs a love song. At school rehearsals for the staging of the Woman with the golden hair continue. Sempros, who attends the rehearsal, protests to the teacher, saying that it is not right to satirize the Count instead of the Venetian. As the rehearsal goes on, someone says that Gekos’ son has been arrested. The “actor” comes out, ready to fight. Eleni, wearing the mask of the woman with golden hair, begins to play the pat of the heroine who is in love with Fotis. The teacher responds to her. Sempros slaughters a lamb hanging from the tree. As he boasts of his manliness, he offers Eleni the lamb’s fries. (COURTYARD OF THE COUNT’S HOUSE – HOMESTEAD – OLIVE PRESS -SCHOOL – BRIDGE – BY THE SEA)
    5. THE TEACHER AND ELENI ENJOY THEIR LOVE Night. The feast goes on. Τhe loving couple goes to the school. From the site of the feast, a popular tune is heard out loud: "the trains that left took my love away …". They light a cigarette. Eleni sings. (BARBERSHOP IN THE OPEN AIR – ROAD - SCHOOL)
    6. THE PERFORMANCE AND THE VILLAGERS’ REACTIONS Sempros approaches the Count and tells him that the performance satirizes his name and honor. The young men have turned everything upside down. And his daughter in law is part of this. A rough stage has been set up for the performance at the village’s square. A masqueraded crier, holding a bell, announces the performance that will begin at noon. The tricycle with the costumes of the play arrives. High up on the belfry, men with guns shoot in the air to announce the beginning of the performance. The show has started. The gathered crowd seems to enjoy the acting. The plot touches upon the relationship between master and slaves. The Count, who love is not matched by the girl, disgraces her by cutting her hair. Fotis takes revenge by killing the Count. He takes off with his beloved and together they hide on the mountain. A TV reporter who came from Athens gives some information on the custom of the “talks”, which has a long tradition. It is a mix between Rennaisance theater and Commedia dell’ Arte, a serious attempt to preserve the collective memory and the local folk traditions. The priest, accompanied by some conservative villagers, excommunicates the teacher. The reporter interviews actors and villagers. With the exception of the teacher, all claim to be illiterate and complain about the fact that the village has no water. (VILLAGE SQUARE – BELFRY – CHURCH COURTYARD)
    7. THE TEACHER’S TRIAL – THE EXPULSION FROM THE SCHOOL – THE FLASHBACK OF ELENI AND THE TEACHER TO THEIR PAST Gathered on the carrier of a large truck, the theater group goes to perform in villages in the area. The actors sing “Uncle-Giannis, potter». The police squad blocks the road and prohibits them from giving more performances. As all this takes place on the street, the gypsy’s truck passes them, its loudspeakers playing out loud a popular song: “your mesmerizing black eyes”. The officials of the community are angry at the teacher, whom they trial at the Count’s house. The village’s priest takes the lead and influences all others. The teacher pleads using poetic verses. Sempros, out of his mind, calls the teacher and Eleni God’s enemies. Eleni speaks. The Count reacts, while Sempros takes off, cursing and threatening. Night. The teacher and Eleni walk in the village. Eleni narrates to him stories from her life in Germany. The difficulties of the first months, her coexistence with the Turkish workers, her decision to marry. Their first home, a warehouse with mold and a skylight instead of a window. Her husband died of electric shock: accidents at work were common, due to the workers’ inability to communicate. Taking his turn, the teacher says that his father used to work in Athens as a doorman, in order to help him study. He returned to the village with the Count’s help to share his knowledge with his fellow villagers. The squad blocks off the teacher at the school’s entrance. He reads out loud the summons that arrived from the directorate of the Ministry of Education against Anastasios Divaris, som of Dionysios. Among other accusations, the bill of indictment also mentions the teacher’s possible association with anarchists. (COUNTRY STREET – VILLAGE – COUNT’S HOUSE)
    8. END : ELENI LEAVES FOR GERMANY. THE TEACHER RETURNS TO THE VILLAGE AND IS KILLED BY SEMPROS The harbor of Zakynthos. Eleni, her daughter and the teacher walk at the dock (traveling). At a bench, as she awaits the ferry-boat, Eleni writes down her address in Germany and hands it to the teacher. The boat arrives. Eleni and her daughter step on the boat. At the same time, the gypsy’s loaded truck also embarks. The teacher returns to the village on foot, holding the mask of the “Woman with golden hair”. As he walks, he begins to play the heroine’s part himself. The story takes place in 1863. Sempros waits for him on the street. He shoots him with his gun. The teacher freezes. Just like time at this mountainous part of Zakynthos, where the same drama is reenacted again and again over the centuries. (ZAKYNTHOS HARBOR – STREET)
  • Keywords: ΖΑΚΥΝΘΟΣ ΣΧΟΛΕΙΟ ΜΕΤΑΝΑΣΤΕΥΣΗ ΠΡΟΚΑΤΑΛΗΨΗ ΕΡΩΤΑΣ / ZAKYNTHOS SCHOOL IMMIGRATION SUPERSTITION LOVE / ΖΑΚΥΝΘΟΣ ΣΧΟΛΕΙΟ ΜΕΤΑΝΑΣΤΕΥΣΗ ΠΡΟΚΑΤΑΛΗΨΗ ΕΡΩΤΑΣ / ZAKYNTHOS SCHOOL IMMIGRATION SUPERSTITION LOVE
  • Provider: Tainiothiki tis Ellados
  • Director: LYKOURESIS TONIS
  • Collection: Ψηφιοποιημένες ελληνικές ταινίες μυθοπλασίας

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