Antigone

??An adaptation of Sophocles’ masterpiece Antigone, Antonio D'Alfonso’s film script tells of a young woman who defies her uncle, the king’s decree that no-one is to bury her dead brother. For 2500 years Sophocles’ tragic story of war, betrayal, and love has sparked the imagination of artists from generation to generation. Poems, novels, plays, interpretations, and films have paid tribute to this evocative allegoric tale of a sister’s loyalty and courage. Antonio D’Alfonso’s cinematic rework draws illuminating parallels between ancient and contemporary society, offering us a postmodern retelling updated and brought to the film screen as a story of crime and redemption in Toronto. Shot in three languages (Italian, French and English), there are few films like it in Canadian filmmaking. A study of a virtuous heroine who defies implacable authority, D’Alfonso’s reimagining of the Greek classic roars with power — and dares us to choose between our personal values and those of the world in which we live. One of drama’s most compelling heroines, Antigone accepts her fate with fearless grace. In an enlightened tradition of auteur filmmaking, Antonio D’Alfonso has forged a dark and demanding film of broad, poetic appeal.