During the long journey that brought him home victorious in the Trojan War, Agamemnon fell in love with one of his captives, Cassander, daughter of Priam, with whom he had children. The reception in Argos, more than ten years later, was icy. Annoyed by the double indelicacy of her husband, Clytemnestra, his wife who had meanwhile become the mistress of Aegisthus, killed him with the help of her lover. Aegisthus then became the regent and ensured the prosperity of the city alongside his mistress, the widowed queen. But Electra, one of the daughters of Agamemnon, has always foreseen the murder and adultery of her mother. Solitary, wild, she lives in the royal palace awaiting the return of Orestes, her brother who has taken refuge since childhood with an uncle, in order to take revenge. Electra can begin, the crimes of the Atreides family continue quietly, as planned.
Acting
Denise Gence's Electra: feral, magnetic, barely contained.
Direction
Dux translates theatrical ritual to claustrophobic cinema.
Production
Stripped-down palace sets heighten psychological pressure.
Director
Pierre Dux
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This adaptation draws from Giraudoux's 1937 play, not raw mythology—explaining its modern psychological tension and anti-war subtext.
Denise Gence was primarily a stage actress; this rare film role preserved her legendary Electra just before French theatrical tradition shifted.
FR
