Ulysses' Gaze (1995)

An exiled filmmaker finally returns to his home country where former mysteries and afflictions of his early life come back to haunt him once more.

Director:

Theodoros Angelopoulos (as Thodoros Angelopoulos)

Writers:

Theodoros Angelopoulos (screenplay) (as Thodoros Angelopoulos), Kaii Tsitseli (dialogue translation)

Stars:

Harvey Keitel, Maia Morgenstern, Erland Josephson

11 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harvey Keitel	...	A
Erland Josephson	...	Library Curator
Maia Morgenstern	...	Kali
Thanasis Vengos	...	Taxi Driver
Giorgos Mihalakopoulos	...	Nikos
Dora Volanaki	...	Old Woman
Mania Papadimitriou	...	Mother
Giorgos Konstas	...	Father
Thanos Grammenos	...	Manakias' Assistant
Alekos Oudinotis	...	Greek Film Library Manager
Angel Ivanov	...	Bulgarian Interrogator (as Angel Ivanof)
Ljuba Tadic
Vaggelis Liodakis
Gert Llanaj	...	Little Boy
Agni Vlahou

Storyline

A, a Greek filmmaker living in exile in the United States, returns to his native Ptolemas to attend a special screening of one of his extremely controversial films. But A's real interest lies elsewhere--the mythical reels of the very first film shot by the Manakia brothers, who, at the dawn of the age of cinema, tirelessly criss-crossed the Balkans and, without regard for national and ethnic strife, recorded the region's history and customs. Did these primitive, never-developed images really exist? If so, where are they? - "Why A? It's an alphabetical choice. Every filmmaker remembers the first time he looked through the viewfinder of a camera. It is a moment that is not so much the discovery of cinema--but the discovery of the world. But there comes a moment when the filmmaker begins to doubt his own capacity to see things, when he no longer knows if his gaze is right and innocent." --Theo Angelopoulos

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Plot Keywords:

male nudity | male frontal nudity | balkans | symbolism | sarajevo | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gian Maria Volontè died during filming, and was replaced by Erland Josephson.

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Quotes

Niko: The first thing God created was the journey, then came doubt, and nostalgia.

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Connections

References Carmen Jones (1954)

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Soundtracks

Paei o palios o hronos
New Year's Folk Song

User Reviews

Very successful mix of political and personal history

Justly famous for being one of the last remaining directors still doing extraordinary cinema, in this film Angelopoulos celebrates the end of Communism in Eastern Europe, while, at the same time, looking with touching sensitivity into the lives of people molded by recent (and less recent) History. Some of the scenes related to History have already become classic, but, personally, I was more impressed by the description of the way this History affected individuals and families. Although the media has covered so amply the tragic events in the Balkans and (to a lesser extent) the external aspects of people's life, very little has been said about more human aspects which, after all, will keep affecting them for many, many years to come. In my opinion, this film offers the most complete, convincing and respectful take on the affected people's emotions, memories and relations among the (few) films, documentaries and books touching on the theme.

The scale is epic both geographically and chronologically and since Angelopoulos manages to move easily between dream and reality (one of the biggest problems facing cinema directors), the personal stories are nicely interwoven with History. Angelopoulos' characteristic long takes, in this instance serve more than giving the film a poetic atmosphere. It is necessary for his goal of looking carefully on individuals' lives and describe their joys and sorrows.

In terms of execution, there were some flaws (especially in technicalities of directing of actors) but, frankly, I don't mind that, if the alternative is perfectly executed films but lacking interesting ideas.

Details

Country:

Greece France Italy Germany UK Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Romania Albania Bosnia and Herzegovina

Language:

English Greek Bulgarian Albanian Serbian Romanian Kurdish Macedonian German

Release Date:

1 November 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ulysses' Gaze

Filming Locations:

Korce, Albania

Box Office

Gross USA:

$42,202

Company Credits

Production Co:

Greek Film Center, Mega Channel, Paradis Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

176 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1