Never on Sunday

Ilya, a self-employed prostitute and free spirit, lives in Piraeus, Greece. She entertains preferred clients at weekly Sunday receptions and enjoys impulsive swims in the ocean with workers, showcasing her wild and independent nature.

On his first day working at the shipyard, Tonio, a half-Italian worker, becomes infatuated with Ilya, learning that she does not set prices and chooses her clients based on her liking. He expresses interest in her and hopes for a chance to be with her.

Homer Thrace, an American scholar, visits Greece and observes Ilya, believing Greek culture has decayed due to Stoic and Epicurean philosophies. He sees Ilya as embodying a distorted view of happiness, contrasting with classical notions of understanding and virtue.

During a theater visit, Ilya interprets Medea as a caring mother and wife who tricks her husband to win him back, refusing to see her as a ruthless killer. This highlights her optimistic and unconventional outlook on life.

Homer, convinced he can moralize Ilya, proposes a two-week experiment where he pays her for her exclusive attention to teach her classical subjects and culture, hoping to reshape her morally and intellectually.

Despite studying classical texts and listening to records, Ilya finds the lessons boring and feels torn between her studies and her desire to party with sailors arriving by ship, revealing her conflict between education and freedom.

After two weeks, Homer’s funding ends, and Noface, who owns the rental apartments for prostitutes, informs Ilya of Homer’s departure. This triggers Ilya’s rebellious response and her leadership in a strike by the prostitutes against Noface.

Ilya leads the prostitutes in protesting Noface’s high rents by refusing to work and throwing out their beds and headboards, resulting in arrests. Noface’s lawyer pays fines and agrees to a rent reduction, showing a ceasefire in the conflict.

Tonio and his friends arrive at the bar to pick up Ilya, and he declares his intention to take her to Italy for a new life. Their encounter signifies a shift in Ilya’s future, moving toward hope and escape.

Homer, having failed to reform Ilya and disillusioned, boards a ship bound for the US, symbolizing his resignation from his mission to change her and his return to his own culture and beliefs.

With Tonio's promise of a new life, Ilya prepares to leave Greece, symbolizing her rejection of societal and scholarly attempts at reform and embracing her independence and future prospects by the seashore.