Release, runtime and language

1957 · 128 mins · French

Directed by

Jules Dassin

Starring

Carl Möhner, Jean Servais, Gert Fröbe, Maurice Ronet, René Lefèvre, Grégoire Aslan

Greek village under Turkish occupation in the 1920s, annual passion play; locals cast a stuttering shepherd as Jesus, the ambitious butcher as Judas, a prostitute as Mary Magdalene, etc. As the play proceeds, real violence erupts when war‑displaced refugees arrive; wealthy townspeople conspire a massacre, blurring biblical roles with harsh reality.