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

12 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

The statue of V.I. Lenin, appearing in the film, was thirty-five meters (one hundred fourteen feet and nine inches) tall.

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Quotes

Taxi Driver: [talking to A] Know something? Greece is dying... We're dying as a people. We've come full circle. I don't know for how many thousands years, among broken stones and statues... and now we're dying. But if Greece is to die, she'd better do it quickly, because the agony lasts too long, and makes too much noise.

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Connections

Features Baba Despina (1905)

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Soundtracks

Pame san allote
Composed by Kostas Giannidis & Mihalis Souyoul

User Reviews

Ulysse's Gaze to me

Major films and movies that I have seen have been primarily service pictures. I say service pictures because any idea being developed is immediately delivered in a reduced state right into the movie-goer's lap. It's a fast philosophy. This is unlike Ulysses' Gaze. I am still impressed by the movie because of its confidence in the viewer. I have read comments complaining about the film's overly long scenes. The scenes are an interaction between your mind and the screen. An image is produced and the director leaves the image for you to contemplate. Images shouldn't be beamed into minds as 10 second clips like Moulin Rouge. So many people explain to me their love of movies as a form of entertainment and escapism. Movies are an art form but like everything in this post-modern age, they cannot exist without the deep intellectual objective view point dividing the subjective experiences. Ulysses' Gaze does not REQUIRE patience it rewards contemplation and understanding.

Story-wise the plot is just as basic as The Wizard of Oz. An individual must journey to find home and a complete soul. I found it as a superb movie with its various allusions to mythology and actual history.

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:

Color (Eastmancolor) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1