Feature film
Daphnis and Chloe
Δάφνις και Χλόη
Orestis Laskos · 1931
Synopsis
Daphnis and Chloe, two young shepherds, grow up together in the mountains of ancient Lesbos. With adolescence, the awakening of desire, keener in Chloe, troubles and embarrasses them, for they do not know how to respond to it. A contest sets Daphnis against a rival, Chloe gives him a kiss, and in a cave, under the moon, the nymphs sing of love.
Context
The film, silent, was shot on Mytilene, with the exception of the bathing scene, taken at Lake Vouliagmeni, where the heroine appears nude. Its cinematographer, Dimitris Meravidis, used panchromatic film stock there, richer in shades of grey than the orthochromatic then in common use. A version with sound appeared two years after the war, and Laskos shot a remake in 1969. The Greek Film Archive, after searches in Greece and abroad, has gathered a large part of the material and restored the film in its original form.
Who it is for
About an hour of silent film, restored. It helps to know Longus's pastoral idyll, whose plot is closely followed.
Prizes and reception
A great success on release, it contains a nude scene often regarded as the first in European cinema, which led to it being branded pornography.
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