Mia aioniotita kai mia mera (1998)

Director:

Theodoros Angelopoulos

Writers:

Theodoros Angelopoulos (idea and scenario)
Tonino Guerra (co-writer) ...
(more)

Release Date:

28 May 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Alexander, a famous writer, is very ill and has only a few days to live. He meets a little boy on the street, who is an illegal immigrant from Albania. Alexander then takes the boy home.

Plot Keywords:

Greece | Long Take | Emigrant | Poet | Soul Searching

Awards:

10 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Bruno Ganz	...	Alexandre
Isabelle Renauld	...	Anna
Fabrizio Bentivoglio	...	The Poet
Achileas Skevis	...	The Child
Alexandra Ladikou	...	Anna's Mother
Despina Bebedelli	...	Alexandre's Mother
Eleni Gerasimidou	...	Urania
Iris Chatziantoniou	...	Alexandre's Daughter
Nikos Kouros	...	Anna's Uncle
Alekos Oudinotis	...	Anna's Father
Nikos Kolovos	...	The Doctor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Andreas Chekouras
Mihalis Giannatos		(as Michalis Yannatos)
Petros Markaris
Yannis Mohlas
Efthimis Pappas	...	Party attendant
Maria Saltiri	...	Woman
Vassilis Seimenis	...	Son-in-Law
Leonidas Vardaros

Directed by
Theodoros Angelopoulos

Writing credits
Theodoros Angelopoulos		(idea and scenario)
Tonino Guerra		(co-writer) &
Petros Markaris		(co-writer)

Produced by
Theodoros Angelopoulos	....	producer
Phoebe Economopoulos	....	executive producer
Eric Heumann	....	producer
Amedeo Pagani	....	producer
Giorgio Silvagni	....	producer

Original Music by
Eleni Karaindrou

Cinematography by
Giorgos Arvanitis
Andreas Sinanos

Film Editing by
Yannis Tsitsopoulos

Set Decoration by
Costas Dimitriadis
Giorgos Ziakas

Costume Design by
Giorgos Patsas

Sound Department
Bernard Leroux	....	sound
Nikos Papadimitriou	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Yorgos Giannelis	....	assistant camera

Music Department
Eleni Angelopoulos	....	composer: additional music
Andreas Chekouras	....	musician: accordion
A. Dimitriadis	....	musician: mandolin
N. Ginos	....	musician: clarinet solos
M. Halkias	....	musician: folk clarinet
Lucas Karytinos	....	conductor
E. Kazianis	....	musician: Bassoon
Vangelis Kristopoulos	....	musician: oboe solo
V. Skouras	....	musician: french horn
I. Vavachikas	....	musician: accordion

Other crew
Petros Fyssoun	....	voice dubbing: Bruno Ganz
Pemi Zouni	....	voice dubbing: Isabelle Renauld

Production Companies

• Theo Angelopoulos Films
• Greek Film Center (as E.K.K.)
• Greek Television ET-1 (as ET1)
• Intermédias
• Paradis Films
• La Sept Cinéma
• Canal+ (in association with)
• Classic (in association with)
• Istituto Luce (in association with)
• Arte (in association with)
• Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) (in association with) (as W.D.R.)
• Eurimages (support)

Distributors

• Greek Film Center (1998) (worldwide) (all media)
• AFMD (1998) (France) (theatrical)
• Artificial Eye (1998) (UK) (theatrical)
• Filmcooperative (1998) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Filmmuseum Distributie (1999) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Films de l'Elysée, Les (1998) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Istituto Luce (1998) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Merchant Ivory Productions (1999) (USA) (theatrical)
• Phaedra Cinema (1999) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Asociace Ceských Filmových Klubu (ACFK) (Czech Republic)
• Atalanta Filmes (Portugal)
• Film Office (2000) (France) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (New Zealand) (DVD)
• New Yorker Films (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Primer Plano Film Group (Argentina)
• Prodimag (2005) (Spain) (DVD) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Giorgio Armani  costumes: for Bruno Ganz
• ECM Records  soundtrack
• Kamerata, I  orchestra

Also Known As:

Eternity and a Day (International: English title) (UK) (USA)
Μια αιωνιότητα και μια μέρα (Greece)
Die Ewigkeit und ein Tag (Germany)
L'éternité et un jour (France)
L'eternità e un giorno (Italy)

Runtime:

137 min

Country:

Greece | France | Germany | Italy

Language:

Greek | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Spain:7 | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Finland:S | France:U | Hong Kong:I | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:All | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Thessaloniki, Greece

Company:

Theo Angelopoulos Films

Trivia:

Part III of "A Trilogy of Borders".

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Hrysa koritsia: (#1.15)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Panselinos o erotas

A true masterpiece of human emotion

This film was such a pleasurable experience to watch. I was expecting a considerably depressing venture but the end left me filled with a variety of conflicting emotions, including a hint of rapture and a dash of melancholy. There are times where Angelopoulos left me contemplating about the life I have led. To many critics, the pace of this film was too slow, on the other hand I felt that it flowed beautifully, taking its time to arouse the audience's emotions. The music by Eleni Karaindrou touched my soul for it was able to guide the actors to make a truly magnificent tale from the heart.