ETERNITY AND A DAY | ||||
ETERNITY AND A DAY (1998) Greece/France/Italy. 130 minutes. Colour. Directed by : Theo Angelopoulos Idea and Screenplay : Theo Angelopoulos In collaboration with : Tonino Guera and Petros Markakis Cinematography : Giorgos Arvanitis, Andreas Sinanos Edited by : Yannis Tsitsopoulos Sound : Nikos Papadimitriou Music : Eleni Karaindrou Costumes : Giorgos Patsas Sets : Giorgos Ziakas, Costas Dimitriadis Executive Producer : Phoebe Economopoulos With : Bruno Ganz (Alexander), Fabrizio Bentivoglio (the Poet), Isabelle Renauld (Anna), Achilleas Skevis (as the boy), Alexandra Ladikou (Anna's mother), Eleni Gerasimidou (Urania), Iris Hatziantoniou (Alexander's daughter), Nikos Kouros (Anna's uncle), Alekos Oudinotis (Anna's father), Nikos Kolovos (the doctor) Production : Theo Angelopoulos, Greek Film Centre, Greek Television ET1, Paradis Films, IntermediasS.A , LA SEPT CINEMA A Greek-French-Italian Co-production with the participation of : Canal + , Classic Srl., Istituto Luce and WDR Cologne This film was supported by EURIMAGES Fund of the Council of Europe Alexander's first monologue -Lately my only contact with the world is this stranger who answers me with the same music. Who is it? One morning I set out to find out, but changed my mind. It would be better not to know... to imagine. A loner like me? Sometimes I like to imagine that perhaps it is a little girl playing games with a stranger before leaving to go to school. -Everything happened so fast! The suspicious pain... The doctors' sudden silence... My persistence in wanting to find out... to know... And then the darkness... The body that no longer obeys... The body whose contours gradually fade in the mirror until it becomes but a shadow... -Everything pointed to the fact that before the winter was over, with the ethereal silhouettes of the ships outlined against a sudden break in the clouds, lovers strolling on the waterfront at sunset, and the deceptive promise of spring... everything pointed to the fact that before the winter was over... -The only thing I regret, Anna, is that I never finished anything. My plans remained just that. Words strewn here and there... devoid of meaning. Alexander's second monologue -Mother, I came to say goodbye. I'm leaving. Why, mother? Why didn't anything work out the way we expected? Why? Why must we rot in silence torn between pain and desire? Why have I lived my life in exile? Why is it that the only moments when I returned were those rare times when I was still granted the favour of speaking in my language... My own language... When I could still recover lost words or retrieve forgotten words from the silence... Why is it then and only then that I could hear the sound of my footsteps echoing in my house? Theo Angelopoulos Eternity and A Day (1998) Awards: --1998. Palme d'Or, Cannes Film Festival. Prize of the Ecumenical Jury. |