Shadows in the Distance repeatedly suggests that an affair between an Italian man and a German woman will happen, but it never does. In a way, the film is a tease, with all of the built-up suspense culminating in a cold shower. The message seems to be an existentialist lament about the intrinsic solitude of human beings. Or perhaps this is really a bald assertion that love is nothing but an ephemeral illusion which self-destructs as soon as it is consummated. (Not saying that I agree with that message, but that is the take-away from Shadows in the Distance.)
Two people want desperately to believe in love, but both are rebounding from failed relationships. Is there hope for them if they finally get together? We will never know because it never happens, except in their dreams. The moment the man and the woman hook up, we are seemingly supposed to infer, they will learn that the object of their obsession is just as flawed as their previous partners were.
Two people want desperately to believe in love, but both are rebounding from failed relationships. Is there hope for them if they finally get together? We will never know because it never happens, except in their dreams. The moment the man and the woman hook up, we are seemingly supposed to infer, they will learn that the object of their obsession is just as flawed as their previous partners were.
