The Dust of Time (2008)
"Trilogia II: I skoni tou hronou" (original title)

A, an American film director of Greek ancestry, is making a film that tells his story and the story of his parents. It is a tale that unfolds in Italy, Germany, Russia, Kazakhstan, Canada ... See full summary »

Director:

Theodoros Angelopoulos

Writers:

Theodoros Angelopoulos, Tonino Guerra,

Stars:

Willem Dafoe, Bruno Ganz, Michel Piccoli

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Willem Dafoe	...	A
Bruno Ganz	...	Jacob
Michel Piccoli	...	Spyros
Irène Jacob	...	Eleni (as Irene Jacob)
Christiane Paul	...	Helga
Kostas Apostolidis	...	Secretary
Tiziana Pfiffner	...	Young Eleni
Alexandros Mylonas	...	Man in the Train
Norman Mozzato	...	Hotel Manager
Reni Pittaki	...	Composer
Alessia Franchini	...	A's Secretary
Valentina Carnelutti	...	Empfangschefin
Chantel Brathwaite	...	Young Eleni's Friend
Herbert Meurer	...	Doctor
Sviatoslav Yshakov	...	Grandfather

Storyline

A, an American film director of Greek ancestry, is making a film that tells his story and the story of his parents. It is a tale that unfolds in Italy, Germany, Russia, Kazakhstan, Canada and the USA. The main character is Eleni, who is claimed and claims the absoluteness of love. At the same time the film is a long journey into the vast history and the events of the last fifty years that left their mark on the 20th century. The characters in the film move as though in a dream. The dust of time confuses memories. A searches for them and experiences them in the present.

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Plot Keywords:

part of trilogy

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Greece Italy Germany Russia

Language:

English Russian German Greek

Release Date:

12 February 2009 (Greece)

Also Known As:

La poussière du temps

Filming Locations:

Athens, Greece

Company Credits

Production Co:

Theo Angelopoulos Films, Greek Film Center, Hellenic Radio & Television (ERT)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Kinomagazin: Theo Angelopoulos dreht 'Der Staub der Zeit' (2009)

User Reviews

Three generations through one broken love story

Master of broken love stories, Theo Angelopoulos, presents us the story of the last 60 years, the struggle between the absoluteness of love and the sadness of life.

Three generations move from one place to another like leaves in the winds of immense political changes while we witness the parallels between their personal lives and those social changes in lyrical imagery.

The two different paths taken by lovers who have fled Greece after the defeat of the Greek leftists by the American and British led Royalist army forms the basis of the film. Spyros goes to the US and Eleni to the Soviet Union. Spryos' attempt to take Eleni out of the Soviet Union ends dramatically. Eleni is sent to Siberia and Sypros to jail. They are then separated for decades but finally get together in the US. Their love child has become a movie director whose sole purpose in life is his career in the West while their granddaughter has to live the teenage life of divorced parents, lost in a life with no purpose.

These social changes accompany political changes, somehow West starts resembling East. Siberian gulag security has now become Western airport security while the Russian secret police did turn into Berlin police. On this gloomy background Angelopoulos is not too pessimistic, there is a glimmer of hope, the only generation that can save the Gen Xers from their selfish Baby boomer parents are their grandparents.

Overall, a wonderful movie by one the greatest directors of our time, not only packed with strong historic and political content but also beautiful poetry with many dramatic scenes, one especially standing out. And while Piccoli is good, Bruno Ganz offers a great performance.