Medea

Medea is a film by Pier Paolo Pasolini based on the plot of Euripides' Medea. It stars the famous opera singer Maria Callas in her only film role; however, she does not sing in the movie. The first half sums up the story of Jason and the Argonauts as they travel to Medea's barbarian land in search of the golden fleece. In fitting with the soundtrack (which features North African Tribal music), Pasolini depicts Medea's people as a tribal people wh... more

Medea is a film by Pier Paolo Pasolini based on the plot of Euripides' Medea. It stars the famous opera singer Maria Callas in her only film role; however, she does not sing in the movie. The first half sums up the story of Jason and the Argonauts as they travel to Medea's barbarian land in search of the golden fleece. In fitting with the soundtrack (which features North African Tribal music), Pasolini depicts Medea's people as a tribal people who perform the ancient seasonal rituals and sacrifices to secure their harvests. Their costumes and dances are based on those of Eastern European Mummers such as the Romanian Calusari ceremonies and their counterparts in the Balkans. A young man is offered up as a gruesome human sacrifice and his organs and blood are sprinkled over the crops in a ritual sparagmos. The depiction of the sacrifice, in which the victim is bound to a wooden structure and the villagers not only fertilize crops with his body and blood but also consume them, has... less