A Dream of Passion (, translit.Kravgi gynaikon, lit. "Cry of Women") is a 1978 Greek drama film directed by Jules Dassin. The story follows Melina Mercouri as Maya, an actress playing Medea, who seeks out Brenda Collins, portrayed by Ellen Burstyn, a woman who is in jail for murdering her own children to punish her husband for his infidelity.

Plot

Maya, a Greek actress who has been working in Hollywood for years, has returned to Athens to play the title role in a stage production of Euripides' ''Medea''. The film follows three main storylines: (a) the production of the play, (b) Maya’s changing approach to how to portray Medea, and (c) the story of Brenda Collins’ murder of her children. These three storylines are intertwined. Early in the film, we see early scenes from the play being rehearsed, the play’s director and Maya argue about Maya’s (first) interpretation of the character of Medea, and Brenda Collins is introduced. In the middle part of the film, scenes from the middle of the play are rehearsed, and Maya's thoughts about Medea begin to change as she learns more about Brenda Collins’ troubled marriage and as her exploration of Medea makes her rethink some difficult episodes in her own life. In the last part of the film, Maya thinks more deeply about her own life, learns more details about the murders of children, and we see scenes from the end of the play—showing Maya’s final interpretation of Medea.