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IMDbPro

In the White City

Original title: Dans la ville blanche
  • 19831983
  • 1h 48m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
1.3K
YOUR RATING
In the White City (1983)
Drama
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, describin... Read allA 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... Read allA 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 become... Read all
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
1.3K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Alain Tanner
  • Writer
    • Alain Tanner
  • Stars
    • Bruno Ganz
    • Teresa Madruga
    • Julia Vonderlinn
  • Director
    • Alain Tanner
  • Writer
    • Alain Tanner
  • Stars
    • Bruno Ganz
    • Teresa Madruga
    • Julia Vonderlinn
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 8User reviews
    • 17Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 1 nomination

    Photos25

    Bruno Ganz and Teresa Madruga in In the White City (1983)
    In the White City (1983)
    Bruno Ganz in In the White City (1983)
    Bruno Ganz in In the White City (1983)
    In the White City (1983)
    In the White City (1983)
    Bruno Ganz in In the White City (1983)
    Bruno Ganz in In the White City (1983)
    Teresa Madruga in In the White City (1983)
    Bruno Ganz in In the White City (1983)
    Bruno Ganz in In the White City (1983)
    Bruno Ganz in In the White City (1983)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Bruno Ganz
    Bruno Ganz
    • Paul
    Teresa Madruga
    Teresa Madruga
    • Rosa
    Julia Vonderlinn
    • Élisa…
    José Carvalho
    • Le patron
    Francisco Baião
    • Le voleur au couteau
    José Wallenstein
    José Wallenstein
    • L'autre voleur
    Victor Costa
    • Le garçon du bar
    Lídia Franco
    Lídia Franco
    • La fille du bar
    Pedro Efe
    • L'ami dans la taverne
    Cecília Guimarães
    • La dame du train
    Joana Vicente
    Joana Vicente
    • La jeune fille du train
    José de Carvalho
    • Le patron
    Paulo Branco
    Paulo Branco
    • L'homme dans la gare
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Alain Tanner
    • Writer
      • Alain Tanner
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In the scene where Paul (Bruno Ganz) enters the Pub & watches a soccer game, it is a World Cup match with Italy vs. Brazil (7/5/82). Italy won the game with the final score of 3-2. Paolo Rossi scored all 3 goals for Italy.

    User reviews8

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    The impossibility to just vanish
    To drop out of society: this is one of the central topics in the films of Alain Tanner. Unfortunately, we cannot just vanish: we leave traces. We also leave commitments, partners, children, our post, the apartment. And if we get really able to reach the state of completely breaking off all outer belongings without touching our inner states, we are still far away from being free: We are neither free to do something, because in well-organized societies, my freedom-to stops exactly there where the freedom-to of my neighbor starts, and since we are crowded on this planet, there is not much to accomplish. And neither is our freedom-from so easily to achieve, because we live in a global society where only the suicide is for free.

    In Tanners's "Messidor" we have Marie and Jeanne, whose freedom-to ends quickly, namely in the moment where there are out of money. In "Charles vif ou mort", Charles' freedom-from ends there, where he sees that it is not to accomplish without destroying the whole society, which is rather impossible. And in the never-land between freedom-to and freedom-from, there is Paul in "Dans la Ville Blanche", the Swiss sailor, who decides one day not go back to his ship but to stay in Lisbon until his money is gone. In a letter to his partner in Zurich, he writes: "I am not in vacation, since a vacation must be planned, and planning is work. I am doing NOTHING". All central characters of Tanner's movie want the same: to experiment how it is possible to experience the ABSENCE of something: the empty space as absence from the crowd, the empty time as the absence of obligations in society. And all of them fail sooner or later: either they cannot go on anymore, because the emptiness has turned into nonsense, or people do not let them go, because they want them put behind bars - of prisons or clinics.
    helpful•22
    0
    • hasosch
    • Apr 18, 2009

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 21, 1983 (Portugal)
    • Countries of origin
      • Switzerland
      • Portugal
      • United Kingdom
    • Official sites
      • Cinémathèque Suisse
      • Director's official site
    • Languages
      • English
      • German
      • Portuguese
      • French
    • Also known as
      • In der weißen Stadt
    • Filming locations
      • Portugal
    • Production companies
      • Channel Four Films
      • Filmograph S.A.
      • Metro Filmes
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross worldwide
      • $2,540
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 48 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.66 : 1

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