A Dream of Passion (1978): Cast & Plot

Maya, Melina Mercouri, a Greek actress who has spent years in Hollywood, returns to Athens to take the title role in Euripides’ Medea. The film threads together three intertwined storylines that feel connected even as they unfold in different registers: the actual production of the play, Maya’s evolving approach to portraying Medea, and a chilling real-life crime—the murder of Brenda Collins’ children. From the very start, the play’s rehearsal space becomes a stage for conflict as Maya’s first interpretation clashes with the vision of the play’s director, and the audience is introduced to Brenda Collins, a woman who will become central to Maya’s journey and to the film’s moral questions.