In the White City (1983)
"Dans la ville blanche" (original title)

A Swiss sailor jumps ship in Lisbon, tired of the noisy engine room, the ship "a floating factory of crazy people." He rents a room and does little. He writes letters to his lover, ... See full summary »

Director:

Alain Tanner

Writer:

Alain Tanner

Stars:

Bruno Ganz, Teresa Madruga, Julia Vonderlinn

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Bruno Ganz	...	Paul
Teresa Madruga	...	Rosa
Julia Vonderlinn	...	Élisa / The Swiss woman
José Carvalho	...	Le patron
Francisco Baião	...	Le voleur au couteau
José Wallenstein	...	L'autre voleur
Victor Costa	...	Le garçon du bar
Lídia Franco	...	La fille du bar
Pedro Efe	...	L'ami dans la taverne
Cecília Guimarães	...	La dame du train
Joana Vicente	...	La jeune fille du train
José de Carvalho	...	Le patron

Storyline

A Swiss sailor jumps ship in Lisbon, tired of the noisy engine room, the ship "a floating factory of crazy people." He rents a room and does little. He writes letters to his lover, describing the whiteness of the city, the solitude and the silence. He sends his love and emptiness; she replies with love and confusion. He sends movies from his 8mm camera. Then he becomes friendly with Rosa, a chambermaid, and soon it's a love affair. He continues to send letters and movies home. His Swiss lover is hurt and angry; she sends an ultimatum.

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Plot Keywords:

chambermaid | super 8mm | writing letter | dropping out | very little dialogue | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Switzerland Portugal UK

Language:

English German Portuguese French

Release Date:

21 April 1983 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

In the White City

Filming Locations:

Lisbon, Portugal

Company Credits

Production Co:

Channel Four Films, Filmograph S.A., Metro Filmes

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

User Reviews

Routing routine in Lisbon

Ever been a tourist and thought of just staying where you are? This moody and reflective movie by Swiss director Alain Tanner captures this feeling for us all enticingly. The film has not had the showings it conspicuously deserves. It draws us in to contemplate what might happen if we simply stopped doing what we've always just done? And the haunting sense of authenticity is heightened using cuts of super-8 movie clips (as representations of a filmic mimicry of the pulse, taste and feel of life as it is lived on the edge).

Bruno Ganz (long before his Hitler portrayal) simply gets of the boat on which he was an engineer and loses himself and us in the sounds and sights of a foreign land. Lisbon evocatively unfurls before us in realistically plausible super-8 snatches as Ganz's character becomes enveloped in the flavour and mystery of a poor quarter of the city. Hopelessly drunk and plaintively playing his harmonica through the minutes and hours spent in his hotel room commanded by its dripping tap, the character posts film home to his wife in clinical Switzerland. Time and place are punctuated by escapes into drink, romance whilst the character clutches at every moment's freshness and tracing the lines of a web of ordinariness which is so easy to experience voyeuristically.The clock in the hotel symbolically goes backwards. Maybe there are times when perhaps we need to go back in order to move forward.