''Lisístrata'' is a 2002 Spanish comedy film directed by
Francesc Bellmunt
Francesc Bellmunt (; born 1 February 1947 in Sabadell) is a Spanish screenwriter and film director from Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designat ...
. It is based on a
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
by the German cartoonist
Ralf König
Ralf König (born 8 August 1960) is one of the best known and most commercially successful German comic book creators. His books have been translated into many languages. He has resided in Soest, Dortmund and Berlin and now lives in Cologne.
Bi ...
, which in turn is loosely based on the play ''
Lysistrata
''Lysistrata'' ( or ; Attic Greek: , ''Lysistrátē'', "Army Disbander") is an ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes, originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC. It is a comic account of a woman's extraordinary mission to end the Peloponne ...
'' by
Aristophanes
Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme
In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...
.
Plot
It is the year 411 BC and the
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of th ...
between
Sparta
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...
(among others) and
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
has been raging for some 20 years. The women who want to see the conflict finally ended use a trick to make their husbands comply: led by the Feminist Lisístrata (
Maribel Verdú
María Isabel Verdú Rollán (; born 2 October 1970) is a Spanish actress. Some of her film credits include performances in '' Lovers'', ''Belle Époque'', ''Y tu mamá también'', ''Pan's Labyrinth'', '' The Blind Sunflowers'' and ''Snow Whi ...
), they barricade themselves on the
Acropolis
An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...
, where the Athenian treasure is kept, and refuse to have sex with their husbands until peace is restored.
The men soon sport gigantic
erection
An erection (clinically: penile erection or penile tumescence) is a physiological phenomenon in which the penis becomes firm, engorged, and enlarged. Penile erection is the result of a complex interaction of psychological, neural, vascular, ...
s, which as in Aristophanes' play are depicted by huge prosthetics that protrude from under the actors' clothes. This unfortunate state of "
blue balls
Blue balls is slang for an uncomfortable testicular sensation that can occur during a state of male sexual arousal. The term is thought to have originated in the United States, first appearing in 1916. Another slang term used for the condition ...
" hinders them in their capacity to fight. Luckily, the Spartans have the same problem.
To the rescue comes Hepatitos (
Juan Luis Galiardo
Juan Luis Galiardo Comes (2 March 1940 – 22 June 2012) was a Spanish television, theater and film actor.
Life
The eldest of six children, Juan Luis Galiardo Comes was born in San Roque, Cádiz, but spent most of his childhood and youth in ...
), the local homosexual and
transvestite
Transvestism is the practice of dressing in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional, or ceremonial reasons. The term is considered outdated in Western c ...
, who disguises himself as a medical doctor and advises the generals to order
circumstantial homosexuality as a way to relieve the pressure in their men.
At first, the soldiers refuse, but quickly warm up to the idea — and soon everyone lives rather happily in male–male relationships. The women are not amused by this, as their plan has been foiled. However, as the soldiers begin to fall in love with enemy soldiers instead of fighting them, peace is finally established. The women end their strike (not to the delight of all men) and it is hinted that in the future, homosexual and
heterosexual
Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to ...
relationships will be regarded as relatively exchangeable.
While the film is primarily a bawdy comedy (even more so than the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
play), it also contains interesting tidbits of historic truth, such as a relatively accurate life-size replica of the
Pallas Athene
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...
statue by
Phidias
Phidias or Pheidias (; grc, Φειδίας, ''Pheidias''; 480 – 430 BC) was a Greek sculptor, painter, and architect. His Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Phidias also designed the stat ...
in the
Parthenon
The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considere ...
.
The scene in which one soldier is about to kill an enemy fighter, but is moved by his beauty so much that he spares him and arranges a tête-à-tête with him after the battle, can be seen as being based on the legend of
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's ''Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, k ...
and
Troilus
Troilus ( or ; grc, Τρωΐλος, Troïlos; la, Troilus) is a legendary character associated with the story of the Trojan War. The first surviving reference to him is in Homer's ''Iliad,'' composed in the late 8th century BCE.
In Greek myth ...
, son of
Priam
In Greek mythology, Priam (; grc-gre, Πρίαμος, ) was the legendary and last king of Troy during the Trojan War. He was the son of Laomedon. His many children included notable characters such as Hector, Paris, and Cassandra.
Etymology
Mo ...
.
Cast
*
Maribel Verdú
María Isabel Verdú Rollán (; born 2 October 1970) is a Spanish actress. Some of her film credits include performances in '' Lovers'', ''Belle Époque'', ''Y tu mamá también'', ''Pan's Labyrinth'', '' The Blind Sunflowers'' and ''Snow Whi ...
as Lisístrata
*
Juan Luis Galiardo
Juan Luis Galiardo Comes (2 March 1940 – 22 June 2012) was a Spanish television, theater and film actor.
Life
The eldest of six children, Juan Luis Galiardo Comes was born in San Roque, Cádiz, but spent most of his childhood and youth in ...
as Hepatitos
*
Javier Gurruchaga Javier may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Javier, in video game '' Advance Wars: Dual Strike''
* Javier Rios, a character in the Monsters, Inc. franchise.
* ''Javier'' (album), a 2003 album by the American singer Javier Colon, known ...
as Ajax
*
Jesús Bonilla
Jesús Bonilla (born 1 September 1955) is a Spanish actor. He has appeared in more than sixty films since 1978.
Selected filmography
References
External links
*
1955 births
Living people
Spanish male film actors
20th-century Spanis ...
as Cinesias
*
Teté Delgado
Teté (24 August 1907 – 18 June 1962) was a Brazilian football manager who coached Brazil national team for some games in 1956. He also coached Sport Club Internacional during the 1950s.
Biography
Teté was a major coach of football i ...
(billed as Tete Delgado) as Mirrina
*
Aitor Mazo as General Termos
*
Glòria Cano as Sabrina
*
Eduardo Antuña as Harpix
*
Antonio Belart as Potax
*
Cristina Solà as Lampito
*
Anna Maria Barbany (billed as Anna Mª Barbany) as Papila
*
Albert Trifol as General Bonus
*
Sonia Ferrer
Sonia Ferrer González (born 26 September 1977) is an actress, model and television presenter on Spanish television.
Biography
Sonia Ferrer was born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. She is the only child of parents Victoria González and Josep ...
(billed as Sònia Ferrer) as Cleonice
*
Sergio Pazos as Oficial Bitón
*
José Corbacho
José Corbacho Nieto (born 12 December 1965) is a Spanish comedian, screenwriter, actor, and film and television director from Catalonia.
Biography
José Corbacho Nieto was born on 12 December 1965 in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, and was diagnos ...
as Soldado Lico
See also
*
List of Spanish films of 2002
A list of Spanish-produced and co-produced feature films released in Spain in 2002. When applicable, the domestic theatrical release date is favoured.
Films
Box office
The ten highest-grossing Spanish films in 2002, by domestic box offic ...
External links
*
2002 films
2002 comedy films
Films based on works by Aristophanes
Films based on adaptations
Spanish LGBT-related films
Catalan-language films
2000s Spanish-language films
Films based on German comics
Live-action films based on comics
Spanish comedy films
Works based on Lysistrata
2002 multilingual films
Spanish multilingual films
2000s Spanish films
{{2000s-comedy-film-stub