YOUNG APHRODITES


View at Tainiothiki tis Ellados
  • Andre titler: YOUNG APHRODITES
    SIGN OF APHRODITE (THE)
    ΣΗΜΑΔΙ ΤΗΣ ΑΦΡΟΔΙΤΗΣ (ΤΟ)
    SIGN OF APHRODITE (THE)
  • Genre: Feature Film
  • År: 1963
  • Beskrivelse: In the Hellenistic period, around 200 B.C., a group of shepherds led by Molossos (Zanninos) move from the mountain to the plain, in search of new pastures for their flocks. The shepherds lose their way and find refuge near a beach, by a fishing village, next to a group of women whose husbands, all fishermen, are away. Two young children, Skymnos who’s about 10 years old and twelve-year old Chloe (Vangelis Ioannidis, Kleopatra Rota) are initiated in the secrets of love by watching the love-making of a shepherd, Tsakalos (Takis Emmanouil), with a local woman, Arta (Eleni Prokopiou). The observation of the love scene between the two adults arouses the children and leads to a tragic ending. Their games awaken lust in Lykas (Kostas Papakonstantinou), a mute shepherd who abducts Chloe and tries to rape her. She surrenders to him at the beach and Skymnos, who witnesses this scene, unable to bear the sorrow of betrayal, dies in the open sea, letting the waves take him away.
    1. OPENING TITLES Opening Titles )
    10. TSAKALOS OBSERVES ARTA Tsakalos follows Arta. He watches the naked parts of her body in admiration, although she insists that she doesn’t like being watched. He doesn’t know how long they will stay by the sea. The water is enough for all. The women should not be afraid of them. They are simply shepherds. «They don’t bite». (A BEACH WITH PINE TREES)
    11. CHLOE BREEDS TURKEYS At an extemporaneous coop at the rocks, by the sea, Chloe breeds turkeys. Skymnos passes by carrying a huge dead bird on his back. Chloe caresses the bird’s lifeless wings and goes towards the sea, a net fallen over his shoulder. Skymnos follows her. (A COOP – THE SEA)
    12. ARTA TRIES TO BOOT TSAKALOS OUT Arta tries to boot out Tsakalos, whom she secretly likes. He pushes her against a tree trunk and caresses her, but the girl escapes. Tsakalos calls out her name and asks her to come back. (A BEACH WITH PINE TREES)
    13. CHLOE’S AWAKENING Skymnos and Chloe tie the dead bird on two pieces of wood, creating a totem. Lykas, the mute shepherd, hides in the rocks and watches them. Chloe tells Skymnos that he stinks like a sheep, the young one replies that he isn’t a sheep and that a bird is just a bird. As she takes off her clothes to go towards the sea, the girl says: « It wasn’t a bird. It was like me. And you are a stranger”. At the sight of Chloe’s half-naked body as she casts her net, the young boy feels a pronounced erotic attraction. Chloe fishes and says that when a boy desires a girl he lights a fire, Skymnos replies that his family lights fires to keep the snakes away. As a primitive melody performed by windpipes and a drum resonates far away, at the shepherds’ settlement, Chloe comes out of the sea and goes behind the rocks, where she puts on her coat. Lykas runs away. Skymnos follows Chloe. The girl feels the awakening of love and places her hand on the face of self-conscious Skymnos, who, in turn, touches her breast. (A ROCKY BEACH)
    14. SKYMNOS LOOKS FOR A PLACE TO SLEEP The night falls, a fire burns at the shepherds’ settlement, while the monotonous music continues. Skymnos walks away along with his fox, looking for a place to sleep. (THE SHEPHERDS SETTLEMENT)
    15. ARTA AND TSAKALOS ADVANCE TO THE SEA ARTA AND TSAKALOS ADVANCE TO THE SEA It’s dawn. Arta walks in the pine forest. She stops to take off some clothes. She keeps on some necklaces and a vest of sorts, that leaves her breasts exposed. Rather provocative, she advances to the area with the traps. Tsakalos waits for her there. He gives her a bird he caught for her. Arta holds the wild pigeon and tells him that she didn’t come for him. The forest is hers. “Now it is ours”, he replies. Arta asks him to take his hand off of her. Tsakalos goes a little further, where a horse is tied. He tells the woman that she will stifle the bird and she lets it go. Arta approaches and caresses the horse. Despite her dissent, Tsakalos holds her hand, places her on the horse’s back and leads her on horseback toward the sea. (ΤHE PINE FOREST)
    16. SKYMNOS AND LYKAS FIGHT OVER CHLOE Chloe and Skymnos chase one another at the waterside. Their innocent game seems to become serious, as the young boy lies down and mounts her, full of erotic desire. The young boy, feeling rather uneasy for the continuation of the erotic encounter, looks around in anguish, in fear that someone is watching them. Chloe fends him off and takes off. Lykas, Skymnos’ rival, approaches. The two boys fight over a necklace belonging to the girl. The mute one, stronger as he is, takes the necklace and leaves. (ΤΗΕ WATERSIDE)
    17. THE STROLL OF ARTA AND TSAKALOS Tsakalos with Arta and the wild horse go to the sea, to the point where a small river pours into the sea. He tells her that this is the first time they came all the way to the sea. «We don’t like salty water. If you stay with me, no one will find out. We will take off when the first rains falls». «With the first rainfall, our men will return, too», she replies. They return to the pine forest on foot. Somewhere in the background, Lykas selects a ram out of the flock, pulling it by the horns. The young man tries to grasp the animal and fights with it, in a pronouncedly erotic mood. Tsakalos and Arta watch the scene. Tsakalos asks for her husband, who is away. He wants to know if she misses him. If he fights with her, as the young man does with the ram. “I belong to him and he does whatever he wants”. Tsakalos approaches her and squeezes her against the tree trunk.: «A woman is like a garden. If you don’t water her, she scorches». (THE WATERSIDE - THE PINE FOREST)
    18. THE EROTIC FIGHT OF CHLOE AND SKYMNOS Chloe stands alone on the rocks by the waterside. Lykas watches her in silence. She looks at him rather indifferently and shows her boredom by splashing water with her feet. Skymnos appears. Chloe, on the rocks, begins to crawl on all fours, like a feline ready to attack. Skymnos runs away, rather scared. He stops and turns back to the girl. He seems determined, as if he’s no longer afraid. The girl embraces him and throws him violently into the water. They fight, in a pronouncedly erotic mood, especially on Chloe’s part. (THE WATERSIDE - A ROCKY LANDSCAPE BY THE SEA)
    19. THE SHEPHERDS DANCE ON THE SAND The shepherds dance on the sand, at the accompaniment of windpipes and tabors. (THE WATERSIDE)
    2. A GROUP OF NOMADS The Hellenistic period (around 200 B.C.). A group of mountaineer nomads who accompany their flocks move in the barren landscape, showing clear signs of exhaustion. The eldest of all, the stout Molossos who walks on crutches, and Tsakalos give orders to the group. A shepherd falls down, crying that he cannot go on. It’s better to turn back. The shepherds ignore him and go on, until they reach a cistern – a sign that a source of water is nearby. Following the hierarchy, each one of them consumes the water left in the windbags. They are afraid to drink from the cistern. Tsakalos whistles to get hold of the “young one”. (A BARREN DUSTY LANDSCAPE - Α CISTERN)
    20. ARTA IS AFRAID OF TSAKALOS Tsakalos, wearing a bull’s mask, flirts with Arta, at the accompaniment of the music of the shepherds. He calls her a queen and says that he won’t let her go. He had nothing to do in the forest, he just came to see her. He spreads his hands open and reaches him. The woman cries that he hurts her and tries to escape. She says she is married and expects her husband to return soon. She is afraid of Tsakalos who is a foreigner and a stranger to her, until recently. He embraces her rather languidly. She looks at him in scrutiny. With a sharp movement, the woman pulls his face. Beyond them, the other shepherds continue to dance. Sceptical, Lykas dances alone. (A PINE FOREST - THE SANDY BEACH)
    21. CHLOE AND SKYMNOS PLAY ON THE BEACH Chloe and Skymnos play by the water. The girl seems to take the lead. The young boy follows her. When he tries to touch her, she throws him violently on the ground. Skymnos raises and looks at her in wonder. Chloe goes behind the outspread nets. (THE WATERSIDE)
    22. ARTA ASKS TSAKALOS TO TAKE HER ALONG As she lies on the sand, in the pine forest, Arta tells Tsakalos that he only lusts for her, while her husband loves her. He will enjoy her beauty and then leave, while her husband will be there forever. Tsakalos stands up, enraged: «I only live today, not tomorrow. After the first rainfall we’ll take our flock and go. We are foreigners. In a while I will be gone and you won’t even remember my voice”. The girl tells him that her name is Arta and begs him to take her along. She won’t be a burden. She knows how to cook and weave. Tsakalos takes her violently in his arms. «I should have grabbed you a long time ago, I shouldn’t have followed you sheepishly». «It’s either you or him» Arta replies. She escapes from his embrace and walks to the nets. Enraged, he breaks into an outburst of jealousy and says that if a bird has been caught in the net, he will strangle it. He follows her to the nets, a bird has been caught, indeed. As Arta pulls it out, he tries violently to take it. They roll in the sand. Tsakalos is atop her, ready to make love. The woman cries a loud “no” and hits him with her knee at his crotch. He raises and tries to go. She stops. He turns and throws the dead wild pigeon between her legs. (THE PINE FOREST)
    23. THE FEAT OF SKYMNOS’ INITIATION Skymnos, holding a bunch of dry branches, is on the beach. He tries to light a fire, while Chloe looks at him with a silent grief. «When a man wants a girl, he lights a fire», he says deliberately. «If you want me to believe you, do something for me. Spend a night on the mountain, on your own”. Skymnos talks about wolves and snakes. «If there weren’t wolves and snakes, I wouldn’t have asked you to go. Don’t tell anyone. When you return, you will do anything you want with me». Despite his objections, Skymnos accepts the initiation rite Chloe asks for. He leaves and climbs the rocks determinedly, as Chloe heads to the raised totem: the dead swan. She embraces him and brings her face on the bird’s belly. (THE BEACH)
    24. TSAKALOS TELLS ARTA THAT IT’S GOING TO RAIN Tsakalos drinks water from the windbag. He turns to Arta and tells her that it’s going to rain. The girl walks away. (THE PINE FOREST)
    25. CHLOE BEGS SKYMNOS TO STAY WITH HER Chloe, lying below the dead bird-totem, is awakened by a loud thunder. She sees Lykas approaching, holding the necklace that he got after fighting with Skymnos. Frightened, she gets lost at the rocks, as the rain begins. She meets Skymnos and begs him to stay with her. «If you leave now, I am going to die”. Skymnos seems to avoid her. (THE BEACH)
    26. ARTA WITH TSAKALOS RESORT TO THE ROCKS Arta and Tsakalos find refuge on the rocks, as the storm goes on. The woman takes off her clothes and summons her lover. He responds and approaches her. (A REFUGE AMONG ROCKS)
    27. SKYMNOS DRAWS AWAY FROM CHLOE In the rain, Chloe asks Skymnos to return. She claims to be totally surrendered to him. Skymnos backs off and climbs on the rocks. Chloe cries and calls him an “animal on two legs”. (THE BEACH - THE ROCKS)
    28. CHLOE AND SKYMNOS WATCH ARTA AND TSAKALOS MAKING LOVE Skymnos sees Arta and Tsakalos embracing, through a crack on the rocks. Chloe comes next to him. The two children watch silently their love-making. At some point, when Skymnos violently tries to take off her coat, Chloe runs away. Skymnos follows her. In a while he returns to throw a fleece to the astonished Tsakalos. (A RETREAT AMONG THE ROCKS)
    29. SKYMNOS PROMISES CHLOE TO STAY WITH HER Skymnos wanders on the beach, after the rain. At some point he notices the group of shepherds along with Molossos, who walks up and down nervously, supported on his crutches. He runs away and in a while he meets Chloe. Meanwhile, we watch a shot of Arta and Tsakalos, both rather saddened. Skymnos sits on the rocks. Chloe tells him in grievance that he cannot love her. He tells her that he loves her and asks what he can do for her. The girl asks him to come closer each day and he approaches her right away. She asks him if he is going to love her forever. Skymnos replies “forever”. Chloe says that now that Molossos is healed, Skymnos will leave, along with the other shepherds. The young boy touches her shoulder and promises to stay with her. «I will hide and let them leave. Ask me to stay, and you’ll see». The girl seems not to believe in Skymnos’ vow of eternal love. «Forever». In the meantime, Arta walks away from sakalos, rather saddened. (THE BEACH)
    3. SKYMNOS WATCHES CHLOE The young boy, a blond ten-year-old boy named Skymnos, holds a wild fox on the leash and leads the way. He looks like a tracer. A slightly older girl, Chloe, watches him from above, dragging a dead bird. Chloe is a member of the women who live by the sea and belong to a community of fishermen. Skymnos watches the girl as she heads to the rocky beach. (LANDSCAPES - A ROCKY BEACH)
    30. THE SHEPHERDS LEAVE The sound of the windpipe signals the departure of the shepherds and their flock. Molossos, on his crutches, waves at the women at the fishermen’s settlement. (THE GATHERING SPOT OF THE SHEPHERDS - THE BEACH)
    31. THE SHEPHERDS CHASE SKYMNOS Two shepherds chase Skymnos on the rocks. He tries to escape, throwing rocks at them. He climbs on and tries to hide in the crack in the rocks. He seems to be afraid. The two shepherds light a fire to force him come out. (THE ROCKS ON THE BEACH)
    32. TSAKALOS TAKES OFF Tsakalos takes off. Arta gives him his pack. (THE PINE FOREST)
    33. LYKAS APPEARS BEFORE CHLOE From the waterside, Chloe watches the two shepherds as they violently lead Skymnos to the flock and the rest of the shepherds. The shepherds leave. Chloe, saddened, stands before the totem with the dead bird. Suddenly, Lykas appears before her. The girl asks him why he didn’t leave with the others. Lykas grabs her and throws her into the sea. (THE WATERSIDE - THE PINE FOREST)
    34. SKYMNOS WATCHES CHLOE’S BETRAYAL AND LETS THE WAVES TAKE HIM AWAY Skymnos escapes from the shepherds and runs to the sea. He climbs on the rocks and sees his beloved Chloe making love with Lykas, fully reciprocating his caresses. Skymnos, unable to bear the sorrow of betrayal, frees the dead bird from the cross and drags it to the rough sea. As Lykas frees her, Chloe is left alone on the beach, rather skeptical. She turns in prone position, with her head in the sand. At the same time, the young boy fights with the waves. He wants to die in the rough sea and lets the waves take him away – along with the dead bird. The music of the shepherds plays on. (THE WATERESIDE - THE ROUGH SEA )
    35. 200 B.C. CLOSING TITLES Closing titles. «The last page of the old book bore a painting and the date: 200 B.C. ». )
    4. THE NOMADS FIND A WELL The nomads continue on their course and find a well. Around it there are several ceramics: jars, jugs, clay plates, cups. They start to drink and throw water in the basin, to water their animals. Skymnos, upset at the adults’ greedy behavior, walks away. He is watched by a young shepherd, Lykas, who then looks at a group of women that delimit their space using pieces of wood. He waves at Molossos, who cries out at the ladies and insists to share the water with them. (LANDSCAPES - A WELL)
    5. SKYMNOS DISCOVERS THE SEA Skymnos, wearing a goatskin, walks to the sea. He seems to be looking at it for the first time. He tries to drink some seawater, and realizes that it isn’t potable. Chloe comes out of the rocks. She fills a jug with drinkable water and pushes the jug to Skymnos’ place, over the calm sea. He quenches his thirst and then begins to was his hair. He seems to be in awe thanks to his unexpected discovery. Chloe takes off. (THE SEA)
    6. SKYMNOS LIES DOWN TO SLEEP The evening falls. A fire lights on the beach, Skymnos covers himself with his goatskin and prepares to sleep by the sea. ( ABEACH)
    7. THE DEAD SWAN Lykas, the mute shepherd, hides behind the rocks and watches Chloe who comes from the settlement to see Skymnos. Skymnos sleeps with his fox. At the sight of the fox, the girl runs away and Skymnos wakes up. He takes the fox in his arms and watches Chloe approaching, leading a flock of ducks. She comes next to him and tries to caress the fox. The wild animal shows its teeth, while Chloe seems to be examining it for the first time. As Chloe walks away, Skymnos with the fox begins to chase the ducks. Alarmed, they try to escape. Skymnos grabs one of them, begins to twist it, and pounds it hard on the rocks. Chloe, with tears in her eyes, tells him that she could never love him, while Skymnos is left with the dead duck in his hands. He lets her fall in the water. The two children head in opposite directions. (ROCKS - A BEACH - THE SEA)
    8. ARTA AND TSAKALOS TALK Arta walks on the beach, among the tall pine trees, holding a wild pigeon in her hands. She notices the shepherd Tsakalos who watches her hidden behind a tree. She trips and the bird escapes from her hands. Tsakalos approaches and begins to talk to her. He says that the wild pigeon did not escape her, she let it go deliberately. The area is full of nets. Tsakalos asks her several questions, constantly. Arta replies that this is the first time strangers come here and that the men are away, fishing. As the man tells her how they lost their way, a wild pigeon gets caught in the net. The girl runs to get it. She explains that she catches them and then frees them, while Tsakalos replies that he would never free them himself. (LANDSCAPE BY A BEACH WITH PINE TREES)
    9. SKYMNOS TRIES TO LIFT THE DEAD BIRD ON THE HILL Skymnos tries hard to drag a huge dead bird. He summons all his energy to lift it to the top of the rocky hill, and then go to the sea. (LANDSCAPE WITH RUINS)
  • Nøgleord: ΜΟΥΣΙΚΑ ΟΡΓΑΝΑ ΝΟΜΑΔΕΣ ΒΟΣΚΟΙ ΖΩΑ ΘΑΛΑΣΣΑ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΤΙΚΟΙ ΧΡΟΝΟΙ ΑΣΚΟΣ ΕΡΩΤΑΣ / MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS NOMADS SHEPHERDS ANIMALS SEA HELLENIC PERIOD UTRICLE LOVE / ΜΟΥΣΙΚΑ ΟΡΓΑΝΑ ΝΟΜΑΔΕΣ ΒΟΣΚΟΙ ΖΩΑ ΘΑΛΑΣΣΑ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΤΙΚΟΙ ΧΡΟΝΟΙ ΑΣΚΟΣ ΕΡΩΤΑΣ / MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS NOMADS SHEPHERDS ANIMALS SEA HELLENIC PERIOD UTRICLE LOVE
  • Udbyder: Tainiothiki tis Ellados
  • Produktionsselskab: ANZERVOS
  • Director: KOUNDOUROS NIKOS
  • Samling: Ψηφιοποιημένες ελληνικές ταινίες μυθοπλασίας