MovieChat Forums > Alexis Zorbas (1964) Discussion > A Question

A Question

posted 11 years ago by jeff-kutach
4 replies | jump to latest

I saw it for the first time, and there's a few parts I was kinda confused about. How did that young man die? I see the townspeople carrying and his body, and they all seem to point the finger at the young window. How come Zobra didn't walk side by side the young widow to keep her from getting killed, after he wresteled with that villager with the knife? Did Zobra know that guy was going murder her? Why was the town so completely against her? Did Zobra intentionaly damage the cable timber line? Is it true in Greece, that foreigners, such as the lady who falls in love with Zobra, will not receive a burial because they're not orginaly born or Greece or why? I thought Anthony Quinn, did an amazing, phenemenoal performance, possibly his career best I think, I've seen him in Lust For Life, and another but in this one, he is WOW, what awsome performance, he embodies the character.

[–] HenryCW 11 years ago

1. The young man Pavlo committed suicide by drowning himself in the sea, after he had been told by the villagers that the widow took Basil into her house. Pavlo was attracted to the widow but she scorned him. Mavrandoni (the head of the village and Pavlo's father) blamed the widow for "causing" Pavlo's death. Actually, all men in the village desired the widow and were offended by her being attracted to some outsider. The women in the village were probably jealous because of the attention she received from the men. Thus all of them found an opportunity to "punish" her through lynching.

2. Mavrandoni called upon Manolakas, Pavlo's cousin to avenge him by killing the widow. Zorba wrestled the knife from Manolakas and thought the matter would have ended there. Mavrandoni caught everyone by surprise by killing the widow himself. He was an elderly man and was probably not viewed by Zorba as a threat to the widow.

3. Obviously the "cable line" for transporting timber collapsed because Zorba miscalculated the "angle", which he had emphasized all the time.

4. Madame Hortense was French and a Roman Catholic and priests of the Greek Orthodox Church refused to perform the services for her. As she was a foreigner living by herself and without much means, no one would have taken the trouble anyway).

[–] mdonln 8 years ago

I agree pretty much with everything HenryCW says but I'd like to add a few things.

1. all of them found an opportunity to "punish" her through lynching.

They were trying to stone her and ultimately her throat was slit. Lynching usually refers to hanging.

2. He was an elderly man and was probably not viewed by Zorba as a threat to the widow.

He didn't look very elderly to me. Also, they seemed to simultaneously try to keep the kid from pursuing her but then were quick to go and tell him that she had been with Basil. I agree with what you said about him being a foreigner but perhaps it was also because they saw her behavior as immoral and unacceptable. She lived in town so they probably knew her husband and might have blamed her for his death too. There's no proof of that in the movie but she seemed to have been on the outs with all the people long before the day of her death.

3. Obviously the "cable line" for transporting timber collapsed because Zorba miscalculated the "angle", which he had emphasized all the time.

Just as he had been reckless in the mine, Zorba had a tendency to jump into things feet first. He seemed to have been planning and thinking through the angle calculation but we know a lot of his time was spent in hedonistic pursuits. He was someone who only went so far and then figured whatever happens happens.

4. As she was a foreigner living by herself and without much means, no one would have taken the trouble anyway.

It was callous to leave her dead body on the bed in the house alone. Since she had used her funeral money to buy the rings to marry Zorba, he and Basil should have taken it upon themselves to give her a proper burial. If they had no money they could have dug a grave, said a few words, and placed a marker out of respect. She was kind to them and Zorba had taken full advantage of it. He may think he was doing her a favor but he got something out of it too. Basil lied to her about Zorba's intention mostly as a way to get back at him. It cheered her up in her final days but he did not know at the time if Zorba would even come back or play along if he did.

Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]

[–] Beau_Buffet 8 years ago

You wrote "Zobra" four times. His name is Zorba.

[–] ajazshah 7 years ago

I'll agree that this is Quinn's greatest screen performance. There are certain characters that some actors are born to play. Quinn was born to play Zorba. He did an exceptional job and should have won the Oscar over Peck, who I believe won it that year. The film's not have bad either.
I think Quinn was one of the great screen personalities and highly underrated, possibly due to his heritage and his colourful life.