Medea is a 1969 film by Pier Paolo Pasolini and an adaptation of Euripides's play Medea. The eighth full film by the controversial Italian director, and his second adaptation of a Greek play after Oedipus Rex two years previously, it's notable for starring the famous Greek-American soprano Maria Callas in an entirely non-singing role.
Medea is the princess of Colchis, a faraway land where bizarre rituals including human sacrifices are conducted. They are the keepers of the Golden Fleece, a sacred artifact sought by the Greek hero Jason and his Argonauts. At a high personal cost, Medea steals the Fleece and joins Jason, abandoning forever her homeland for the unfamiliar Greece.
Fast forward to several years later, and Medea has settled into the traditional role of Jason's wife and mother of two children, despite being nostalgic of her past life. Jason soon gets tired of her and decides to marry Glauce, princess of Corinth, for political reasons. Medea, now alone and banished from the city — due to its king Creon fearing her wrath and powers — is initially resigned, but then decides to pay the ultimate price in order to have her revenge.
Not to be confused with Lars von Trier's own adaptation of Medea, made in 1988 for the Danish public television.
Tropes exclusive to this film adaptation include:
- Adapted Out: No flying chariot in the ending, and therefore no Deus ex Machina.
- Adaptation Deviation: In the original play and the relative myth, Medea was the granddaughter of the god Helios and his priestess. Here, it's implied her people venerate an entirely different set of divinities than the Greek ones.
- Adaptation Expansion: The first half of the film covers Jason and Medea's meeting as told in the tale of the Argonauts, while the second half is a proper adaptation of Euripides's tragedy.
- Ambiguous Situation: Did Glauce commit suicide of her own volition, or did the robe hold some kind of madness enchantment? The fact that Medea's Imagine Spot portrays a different fate seems to imply the former.
- Color Motif: According to costume designer Piero Tosi, each main location is represented by the colour schemes of the respective characters' clothes. The people of Iolcus, the place of Jason's youth and formation, dress in bright whites and yellows, the mysterious and ritualistic Colchidians are in earthen tones, browns, and blues, and the opulent Corinthians are in vivid red.
- Culture Chop Suey: Specific to the score, the soundtrack for the Colchidian rituals mixes together traditional music and songs from several Asian cultures (Japan, Persia, Tibet) as well as the Balkans. It works to emphasise Medea and her people's "foreignness" in comparison to Jason's expedition.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: Glauce and Creon die via suicide instead of the robe's poison-and-fire magic. The original deaths are depicted beforehand in Medea's Imagine Spot.
- Disney Villain Death: Glauce and Creon off themselves by jumping off the walls of Corinth.
- Driven to Suicide: Upon seeing herself in Medea's robe in the mirror, Glauce feels immense guilt for replacing the other woman and throws herself off the walls of Corinth. Her father Creon soon follows her out of grief.
- Fish out of Water: Played for drama as the main conflict of Medea's character. Hailing from the deeply spiritual society of Colchis, she finds herself constrained in the role of a submissive housewife in the "civilised" Greece and kept apart from the rituals that were her daily life.
- Gory Discretion Shot:
- The scene of Medea hacking her brother to pieces is hidden from view by their chariot, though we do see her throwing his severed head to the ground.
- Likewise, the murder of her children is only implied by two shots of a dagger, first clean then bloody, a trickle of blood coming out of her youngest's mouth, and then her setting the house ablaze.
- Averted with the deaths of Glauce and Creon, where we see both the impact and the aftermath (though not as messy as one would expect).
- High Priestess: In this version, Medea is less of a sorceress and more of a religious leader.
- Howl of Sorrow: When Medea's mother is presented with the hacked-up pieces of her son's corpse, she lets out an anguished shriek.
- No Ending: Glauce and her father commit suicide, Medea kills her children, and then sets her house on fire. Jason goes to confront her and tries to reason with her, but Medea, now completely surrounded by flames, refuses. Cue the credits.
- Rule of Symbolism: Outside of the walls of Corinth, the landscape looks rugged and desertic, but once Medea crosses the walls it's suddenly a pleasant Renaissance-style plaza.note This apparent Mind Screw provides a contrast between the tribal world of Medea and the civilised one of Jason.
- Then Let Me Be Evil: Medea has spent her married life with Jason hiding from the rumours of her past as a priestess and magician. At the climax, she decides to embrace them in order to enact her revenge.
- Time Skip: One of around a decade at the midpoint of the film, separating the events of the Argonautica from those of the Medea tragedy proper.
- Tranquil Fury: As Medea enacts her plan, she's absolutely stone-cold the entire time. Mind you, this includes while killing her children.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Halfway through the film, a despondent Medea is asked by one of her servants if she plans on remaining this resigned, since the people of Corinth already fear her power. After some hesitation, Medea realises that she's still the same person as before.
