In the White City
(1983)
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In the White City
(1983)
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| Cast overview: | |||
| Bruno Ganz | ... |
Paul
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Teresa Madruga | ... |
Rosa
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Julia Vonderlinn | ... |
Élisa /
The Swiss woman
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José Carvalho | ... |
Le patron
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Francisco Baião | ... |
Le voleur au couteau
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José Wallenstein | ... |
L'autre voleur
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Victor Costa | ... |
Le garçon du bar
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Lídia Franco | ... |
La fille du bar
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Pedro Efe | ... |
L'ami dans la taverne
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Cecília Guimarães | ... |
La dame du train
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| Joana Vicente | ... |
La jeune fille du train
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José de Carvalho | ... |
Le patron
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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. Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
This movie mesmerized me. It is loose jointed, like any traveler's experiences, and gives the viewer the feeling of living through a sailor's wayward days in Lisbon. Even though it hasn't much of a plot, it's curiously compelling. What drove the story for me was trying to figure out what was happening in the sailor's mind. One gets the feeling that he is going through a crisis, that this is a turning point in his life--ought he to keep on travelling, being a perpetual stranger, or should he go back to Germany & his lover/wife? The feeling accompanying this conflict verges between despair and sublimity--it evoked in me the same empty ache I felt the sailor was going through. Deceptively simple, but artful & subtle. A fine picture for all of us wanderers.