Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

l_rawjalaurence The basic plot of ETERNITY AND A DAY is straightforward enough - an aging writer Alexandre (Bruno Ganz) meets a young illegal Albainian immigrant (Achileas Skevis) and takes his home. As he does so, the writer reflects on his own life; his past; his relationship with his mother and his wife; and what he has achieved in his life. Yet Theodoros Angeloploulos' film is at heart a meditation on the act of writing: when we set down words on the page, do they actually record our experiences, or can they only provide an approximation of what we are feeling at any particular moment? Alexandre is perpetually tormented by this thought - although successful in his chosen career, he believes that he has been a failure, simply because of the notion that words can only allude to experience, not record it. The child, in his innocence, believes that words can be found, or bought; but however much one pays for that word (in terms of buying a book, for instance, or when a writer receives royalties for what they have done), those words are still inadequate. They are both allusive - in the sense that their relationships to actions and things are contingent upon circumstances - and elusive (in the sense that such relationships are only approximate). With such uncertainties in his mind, Alexandre comes to understand that there is no "final" distinction between "life" and "death" (after all, they are only words); he has to experience both as a continuum, without the support of anyone. Visually speaking, the film is full of stylistic ironies: Angelopoloulos' camera is perpetually tracking forwards; we see cars in the traffic-choked streets driving off to somewhere, or traveling on the freeway; while the characters are seen crossing the frame from left to right. All suggest some kind of forward movement, a desire to go from one place to another. However such movements are not "progressive" at all, but rather suggest a desire not reflect on life's futility (as Alexandre discovers through his words). In a sense such movements are an evasion rather than an engagement with existence. The same also goes for the "narrative" of the film: Angelopoloulos shows that it is not particularly significant: what matters more is for viewers to reflect on the mise-en-scene within individual frames; to listen to the words, focus on the actors' expressions and body movements, and understand Alexandre's state of mind. A long and complex film, ETERNITY AND A DAY befits repeated viewings.

larma7 If I saw this and "Landscape in the Mist" a year ago or so, I'm not sure if I would like them or even be able to finish them. Brought to my attention by the tragic passing of this great director, I feel like these films are hitting me at the right time. Because while I can perhaps understand that some may find something like "Eternity and a Day" to be boring, self- indulgent, or the most notorious pretentious -- on the other hand, it is for me something enchantingly beautiful and unlike few if any movies I have seen before. The angle I'm going to use to approach this one might be far-reaching and/or random, but bear with me and realize I usually tend to mentally tie-in what I have just watched into what I have watched previous. But in this case, it is what I have just read. I couldn't help but think of the character of this film as the Stephen Dedalus character from Joyce's "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man", but now 40 years or so into the future, on his death-bed and in despair. The protagonist here, likewise a poet, has lived a detached isolated existence from his wife and family. It is what Stephen would have wanted, so as to express himself freely as possible, but now in the waning years of his life the detachment has left him with an emptiness, a void he is trying to somehow fill (again, harking back to the oppressive emptiness felt in "Landscape in the Mist"). Angelopoulos incorporates letters from the characters' wife, narrated by her in poignant fashion, and often seamlessly transitions into flash-backs. This is again something intimate, yet suddenly sprawling. While initially one is enveloped in a natural setting, Angelopoulos then soon drifts into the fantastical and dream-like. Like with "Landscape in the Mist", it all shouldn't be taken so literal. I believe to derive the greatest pleasure from this one should just sit back and let Angelopoulos take you where he wishes, for even if some stretches may not fully register, the high-points so totally make up for it. And once again, the visual compositions are just astounding and at the very least continuously interesting, with here the often long takes aren't even as noticeable straight away and once I realized them, I was then amazed in some scenes. There is this purity in the visuals which few directors works have been able to match and none surpass. Purity is probably the best and only way I can describe it.

pmaniatis Review of the film eternity and a day – mia aiwnioteta kai mia mera By Peter ManiatisTHEO ANGELOPOULOS THE PHILOSOPHER / FILM MAKERThe issues that this film addresses are "time" and "logos". The question "how long is tomorrow" involves the concept of time.Since by the expression of "tomorrow" we understand both, the day after today and an eternity, we require the force of "logos" to resolve this chaotic situation. For Alexandros, the use of logos, the accumulation of word-wealth, brings order to his troubled world. It sheds light to his past, present and future.Defining time as A-series and B-series We can look at the concept of time as Past, Present, and Future. Lets call this an A-series, Past Present Future. Alexandros' past is when he was young, his wife, his friends, his young family, his job, his present is that he is old, and alone, and his future, his tomorrow, is death.Now let us look at P. P. & F. in relation to each other. The arrival of Captain Cook in Australia is a past event. The destruction of Earth or the Second Coming if you wish, is a Future event. But there was a time that the arrival of Captain Cook was a Future event, and there will be a time that the destruction of the Earth will be a Past event. So we can say that Past Present and Future can be viewed in relative terms, without defined boarders.In the film, we see Alexandros in his present form, with his rain coat and seemingly old, intermingling with people in spaces of his past, in the form of the time that the events took place at a present time.With this perspective, we view past, present, and future, relatively to our position in space that we find ourselves at the time (space time). Alexandros does just that.DEFINING TIME BY WAY OF CHANGE:Dimension of change in the sense of coming to be and passing away.Alexandros came to be, he was born, he grew old (changed from young to old) and then tomorrow he will pass away. It is the same with everything in nature. The young child is young at the present time, he too will get old and eventually pass away.Changes in space, variations we experience in space. When we say that the road changes from being narrow to become wide we speak metaphorically. Philosophers connected with the theory of relativity do not see that there is a difference in the change of the road becoming wider and in the changes of the person becoming older. Events deemed past in one frame of reference are deemed future in other frames. The difference is only subjective, experiential, rather than reflecting an ontological fact.Events of Alexandros past are viewed from a spatial position in the present, and according to Agelopoulos, those past events are at the same time present events. Alexandros wears the same raincoat and is the same age. Past events are present in his mind. One can say that looking at time, from space time perspective, time is static.Static view of time: According to Parmenides and Zeno, appearance of temporal change is an illusion.Dynamic view of time: Heracletus and Aristotle, held that future lacks the reality of present and Past. Reality continuously is added to as time passes.The theory of relativity allows that some events are past or future no matter which frame of reference is selected. The relativity of simultaneity, looking at past present and future at the same time, only requires us to revise our conception of the present.Alexandros, I think, does just that. He revises is conception of his present situation relatively, from space –time perspective.THE THREE BIKE RIDERS DRESSED IN YELLOWThe Fates, Klotho, Atropos and Lachesis, the daughters of Necessity, are the three forms of time out of which human life is woven. In the film, the three bike riders we see in the distance and dressed in yellow represent them.In the ancient Greek myth, there is a cosmic spindle where all strands of human life exist separately. In the film, Alexandros', Ana's, his mother, his daughters', and the child's lives all exist separately.Klotho spins them together at some present time, the wife with the husband, the father with the children in their young years, the old man and the child refugee.Atropos, the future, will unravel them as to give the illusion of freedom. The future of the child seems to be free. He does not go back to his grand mother, he goes of to seemingly freedom, but all the time his life is determined by Lachesis the Aloter.In this chaotic situation, it is only logos that brings order, that gives some sense to seemingly world of fate or chance.LOGOS:Logos in its multiple meanings, word, speech, dialogue, language, debate, account, etc. makes the above thoughts possible. It is the uniting force. In the chaotic world of change, logos comes to give some comfort by ordering things, by putting events and actions in their right place.Alexandros, in order to make sense of his life, wants as many words as he can find, to make sense of the time he spend being alive. And in the spirit of Capitalism, he is prepared to buy the words. He is prepared to buy them and gain his freedom, freedom from the tyranny of time, from the tyranny of death. Like his predecessor, Dionysios Solomos who was buying words to write the Ode to Freedom that became the Greek National Anthem.Alexandros, I think gained his freedom. At the end of the day he was making plans. "Tomorrow" after all, did not seem for Alexandros the end of time. It did not seem the end of his time.A very good film.

Ruby Liang (ruby_fff) I can take Bruno Ganz any day! This one, it's more of a subdued role -- it reminds me of "Everybody's Fine", I can picture Marcello Mastroianni in the lead role of this story. Ganz appeared with a beard and delivered a restrained performance.Bruno Ganz exudes a certain strength and energy in the characters he played (Wim Wenders' "Wings of Desire" 1988, Gillian Armstrong's "The Last Days of Chez Nous" 1992), with an outward strong physique. This role is sort of different: he is portraying a man beset with an illness and is unsettled about his upcoming hospitalization. He's also "tormented" by his own conscience of past episodes he had with his beloved wife -- her presence recurs in "haunting" flashbacks at this fragile juncture of his impending life's end.It's his journey and adventure with a little boy whom he by chance (or fate) met. The child became a link to the revived life force and energy in Alexander (Ganz' character). No more brushing off things, no more "doesn't have time" excuses; he is to re-prioritize the events and things in his life and to make a difference -- to do something meaningful for someone other than himself -- to this little boy (in turn to himself). The child's situation prompted him to take risks -- it's about time for him to do so. He's finally experiencing living! The little boy brought him back to life, living, and caring -- woke him up, freed his self-blaming mind and pulled him out of his doldrums. The realization that action speaks louder than words (literally so when he's a writer all his life) gave him fresh insights. The whole film is poetically put together. Director Angelopoulos has intermixed political, intellectual issues with aspects of life events and levels of emotions. Good performances from Ganz, the little boy, and Anna, the wife. The story has its episodic twists and turns, reality and flashbacks, chase scenes (yes, there is action) and "mindwalks", yet there is a certain steady pace and quietness to the film. Some might find it slow and will need patience to follow the film -- don't go if you're tired, you might miss the nuances of Angelopoulos' poetic storytelling and subtle image hints. It's a beautiful, philosophical, and mind-probing piece -- prompts us to reflect on how we lead our lives. Definitely not Hollywood fare. NFE. I find an affinity of story structure to the current box office hit, "The Sixth Sense", which also revolves around a man, a child, (and a woman): a man finding redemption through the time he spent with a little boy, and trying to resolve his neglectful past relationship with his wife. In this case, "The Sixth Sense" is more "real" while "Eternity and A Day" is more like a dream state. Also brings to mind is Francesco Rosi's "Christ Stopped at Eboli" 1979 (in Italian with Gian Maria Volonte, Irene Papas), another quiet philosophical journey of a man discovering life, living and himself among simple village folks.