Landscape in the Mist (1988)

Two children journey the long road to Germany to find the man they believe to be their father.

Director:

Theodoros Angelopoulos

Writers:

Theodoros Angelopoulos (story), Theodoros Angelopoulos (screenplay)

Stars:

Michalis Zeke, Tania Palaiologou, Stratos Tzortzoglou

12 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michalis Zeke	...	Alexandros
Tania Palaiologou	...	Voula
Stratos Tzortzoglou	...	Orestis
Eva Kotamanidou	...	Actress
Aliki Georgouli	...	Actress
Vasilis Kolovos	...	Truck Driver
Vasilis Bouyiouklakis	...	Restaurateur
Ilias Logothetis	...	Seagull
Vangelis Kazan	...	Actor
Stratos Pahis	...	Actor
Mihalis Giannatos	...	Train Station Guardian
Kiriakos Katrivanos	...	Actor
Grigoris Evangelatos	...	Actor
Giannis Fyrios	...	Accordionist
Nikos Kouros	...	Theater Owner

Storyline

Road movie about two children (Voula and Alexandre) searching for their father who is supposed to live in Germany. Their obsession for this father figure will take them to the boundaries between childhood and adolescence.

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Plot Keywords:

germany | rape of a child | rape | three word title | children | 

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Taglines:

A voyage of initiation.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

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Quotes

Voula: [writing a letter to her father] Dear father, we are writing because we have decided to come and find you. We have never seen you and we miss you. We talk about you all the time. Mummy will be upset that we've gone. Deep down inside we love her, don't think we don't, but she doesn't understand anything. We don't know what you look like. Alexander says all sorts of things. He dreams about you. We miss you so much. Sometimes on my way home from school I think I hear footsteps behind me, your ...

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Crazy Credits

Opening titles: The band "The Last Drive" is heard from their Hitch-hyke records' "Underworld Shakedown" album (credit appears on the same screen with those for photography assistants).

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Connections

Featured in Les enfants jouent à la Russie (1993)

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Soundtracks

Every Night
Written by The Human Experience
Performed by The Last Drive

User Reviews

Deliberate emotional complexity

A hard film to watch but an unforgettable experience. I was deeply moved by the damage done to these children in the raw, emptiness of the world of this film. Running away through Greece to seek out their theoretical father in an imagined Germany, they experience confusion, violation and epic indifference to their real and imagined needs. Momentary relief and hope is found in the form of a young man traveling with a theater company, but it is fleeting. The sheer simplicity of their need remain together and to go to Germany is, by the end, all that they have.

Angelopoulos, like other artists/poets/philosophers in film, has a very specific vision of the world which he is relating. There are moments in Landscape In The Mist where our trained needs for (Hollywood) film conventions, story structure and even simple answers cries out. Yet this is far from his intent; as with poetry, the film strives to state itself with images and ideas which leave the viewer not simply awed by beauty but also perplexed and emotionally disorganized as to how or what to to feel. To judge Angelopoulos on the same standards as a showbiz product is to miss the point. He believes film is art and not necessarily entertainment. One may dislike that vision but one will invariably be enriched by the journey if one can spend the time watching it with an open mind. Angelopoulos finds funding for his films and makes them for those who care to extend themselves into someone else's vision, not to reward investors by meeting a market need. He is a powerful artist. There are reasons why his films are not well known in the US, but those reasons are also what makes them fascinating, brilliant and rare experiences.

Details

Country:

Greece France Italy

Language:

Greek

Release Date:

10 September 1988 (Greece)

Also Known As:

Landscape in the Mist

Filming Locations:

Ioannina, Greece

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paradis Films, Greek Film Center, Greek Television ET-1

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1