Vlemma tou Odyssea, To (1995)

Director:

Theodoros Angelopoulos

Writers:

Theodoros Angelopoulos (writer)
Tonino Guerra (co-writer)

Release Date:

1 November 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

"A," a Greek filmmaker living in exile in the United States, returns to his native Ptolemas to attend...

Plot Keywords:

Long Take | Epic | Film Restoration | Holy Grail | Road

Awards:

8 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Harvey Keitel	...	A
Erland Josephson	...	S., Filmmuseum curator
Maia Morgenstern	...	'Ulysses' wife
Thanasis Vengos	...	Taxi driver
Yorgos Michalakopoulos	...	Friend and Journalist
Dora Volanaki	...	Old Woman
Mania Papadimitriou
Yorgos Konstas
Agni Vlahou
Angel Ivanof
Ljuba Tadic
Giannis Zavradinos
Vangelis Kazan
Mirka Kalatzopoulou
Gert Llanaj

Also Known As:

Βλέμμα του Οδυσσέα, Το (Greece)
Blick des Odysseus, Der (Germany)
Sguardo di Ulisse, Lo (Italy)
The Gaze of Odysseus
The Look of Ulysses
Ulysses' Gaze (USA) (literal English title)

Runtime:

176 min

Country:

Germany | UK | Greece | France | Italy

Language:

English | Greek

Color:

Black and White | Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-8 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Belgrade, Serbia

Company:

Greek Film Center

Quotes:

Niko: The first thing God created was the journey, then came doubt, and nostalgia.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Good Bye Lenin! (2003)

Brilliantly flawed film

Greek filmmaker A travels back to his native country to show his most recent film after 35 years in America. However the religious groups protest and he is forced to abandon his plans. However he then decides to begin a search for the first pieces of film ever shot in Greece that remain unprocessed. His quest takes him across changing countries, bounders and war torn cities.

Personal films always run the risk of being too personal and losing the audience. Ulysses' Gaze runs that line very close and crosses it at times. The basic plot sees A travel across many borders and meeting many people. However the meaning of the film seems to be more about one man's obsession damaging the rest of his life and film as a means of recording history. This makes it a bit more difficult but the theme of obsession is well shown and it's A's quest that gripped me for the most part.

The direction is great – beautiful scenery, wonderful mesmeric tracking shots and long takes make for a great visual experience. However working in several languages takes it's toll and much of the english narration is weak and clumsy. That said he still paints some great pictures and the themes are mostly well developed. The scene where dialogue is played out in a misty screen for 4 minutes is great – while the huge Lenin statue is mesmerising.

However the english is weak and other flaws creep in. The use of the same woman to play several characters is an art movie cliché and just annoyed me as it seemed to serve no purpose. Keitel is not very good. He looks distracted at times – like the fact that he doesn't understand the language affected his ability to relate to those speaking it. His english dialogue is clumsily written but he does well for many key scenes.

Overall this didn't deserve to beat Underground as it is too long, has scenes that don't work and dialogue that is clumsy rather than poetic. However it still has masterful themes and visuals that make it worth watching despite the running time.