User Reviews

It had been five years since Anthony Quinn played Zorba, and the very same here that Kander and Ebb wrote a musical of that classic movie that appeared on Broadway, when and his co-star Irene Papas return to their Greek characterizations from that film, playing different people but similar with the passions and the Lust For Life. Here, the lust for life is for their son, possibly dying, and Quinn wants him to have some fresh air in his homeland and get out of New York City. The bigger than life Quinn plays Matsouras who dreams big but doesn't do anything to really full fill those dreams, and every time those dreams he has seems to be falling towards him, something happens to take them away.

I first became familiar with this movie through the movie soundtrack that had a theme song that is not on the print that I saw of this film. It's a shame, because not only was it a good song but it seemed to really go with the ideals that I saw when I finally caught it. Papas, whose character of the widow wasn't involved with Zorba, but is now his wife and tired of his love thing and frivolous, childlike manner. Queen would rather hang out and gamble with friend Sam Levene than work, and he ends up in an affair with a hard-working widow, played by Inger Stevens, whose parents had at first but later makes demands on him that can't be fulfilled.

This is not the classic of Quinn's Academy Award nominated 1964 film, but it is very watchable and it is hard to resist his character who is lovable in spite of his irresponsibility. I would see Quinn when he finally got to play the musical Zorba in 1983, and that passion was still there. In fact, he re-does a Greek wedding dance from "Zorba the Greek" here that later he would do again in the musical. Quinn and Papas are fanrastic, and it's a tribute to her character that she sticks around and continues to love him. If anything, his character isn't as much of a dreamer as a big fool who doesn't realize what he has until it's almost too late.

A Dream of Kings is not for everyone. It's a drama with some comedy, about a flawed man whose zest for life, despite his recklessness, always sees him through. People mistakenly read the film as a tragedy, assuming certain plot elements lead to that conclusion but missing everything about Matsoukas' character -- which is to say, when he's on the ropes, he's at his best. Anthony Quinn gives a solid, robust performance as Matsoukas, and though I can't speak for whether anyone of Greek descent appreciates his playing a Greek American, I can say he creates a character who seems as natural for him as breathing. People may argue he just redoes Zorba, the Greek, and there are distinct similarities, and he is once again paired with the steady Irene Pappas. But Matsoukas is more jaded and in some ways more aware of his flaws. Don't expect a lot of explosions and chases because there's nothing like that. The film is paced like life, that is, if you're life found you drifting to the edge every other day. It also sadly shares the distinction of being Ingar Stevens' last film. Worth a watch, especially if you're older and have ever been caught off guard by the curve balls of life. The ending is, in its own way, life affirming.