It is a Greek coming of age , road tragedy film. Co-written & directed by Theo Angelopoulos.Starring Michalis Zeke, Tania Palaiologou, Stratos Tzortzoglou.
Pubescent Voula & her five year old brother Alexandros want to see their father, whom they have never met before. Their mother tells them he lives in Germany. So they leave home in search of their father.
Their journey till they reach Germany is the story. What a story!
In 1988, at Venice International Film Festival it won the silver lion. Along with Prize of the Students of the La Sapienza University & the OCIC award. In 1989, at the 2nd European Film awards it won the Best Film & at 39th Berlin International Film Festival it won the InerFilm Award.
Angelopoulos stated he once read in the newspaper about two children embarking on a journey to Germany to find their father. He was so impressed by their strong desire to find their father, that the idea of producing a film about it came to his mind. This is his first film to be distributed in US.
Orestis & his travelling theatre troupe are a reference to his earlier film ‘The Travelling Players (1975).
It is his Trilogy of Silence, following ‘Voyage to Cythera (1984) & ‘The Bee keeper (1986). It is regarded as his greatest master piece, one of the best movies of 1988, of the 80s, of the 20th century & one of the greatest & best Greek movies of all time.
The frames are perfect. The camera moves with the children, so we walk with them. When she realises a crush for the first time, she tries to buy time by postponing their departure. Declares they will leave in the evening.
Soon realising that the man already has a partner, she is deeply disappointed & walks away with her brother on foot. He catches them midway & says , You forgot your bag! She doesn’t look up. He takes her in his arms & consoles, ‘The first time , it’s always as if you are dying’
Her brother standing at a distance, unmoving. I felt he had matured. He may not understand all, but knew somehow that she was hurting.
No closeups & yet the emotions so raw & powerful. The landscape is large. The two children are so tiny. Natural & artificial settings make it large. The towering mountains, barren roads, the rusty pickup…just to name a few. The huge hand of plaster of Paris removed by the helicopter from the sea.
Due to the truck driver she has a bad experience & yet knows she will not have another chance. She reaches the man’s room & finds it empty. We see only the empty bed & yet feel her disappointment or the missed opportunity.
The mother is not shown at all. We are so attuned to clichés, I was imaging their union with the mother or their father coming to hug them!
Naturally, nothing happened. It leaves a palpable experience. Beyond words.
Why can’t today ‘s movie follow the example & be less graphic !?
Asian Entertainment 