"The Suspended Step of the Stork" *** 1\2 (out of ****)Theo Angelopoulos' "The Suspended Step of the Stork", like so many of his other films, has deep political roots. The film is about division not just in Angelopoulos' homeland of Greece but throughout Europe. The film centers on the issue of border control. Should Europe have open borders? And what exactly are the effects of closed borders on refugees?
This doesn't make "The Suspended Step of the Stork" sound very interesting to a lot of viewers but for a film released in America in 1992 it is still strangely quite timely. When the film was made the Bosnian War was beginning. Open borders are still an issue in Europe. Granted many borders are now opening up as most of Europe now shares a common currency, the Euro. But for some the debate is still in the air. Not all countries have joined the E.U.
The film starts off with an image of dead Asian refugees floating in the ocean. They were denied political asylum by Greek authorities. Not wanting to return to their homeland they risked their lives.
Unfortunately this is/was a sad common occurrence throughout many parts of the world. And the very heart of Angelopoulos' film. "The Suspended Step of the Stork" argues in favor of open borders.
Theo Angelopoulos is not very well known in America. In Europe his name is known all over. Five of his films have been nominated for the palme d'or at the Cannes Film Festival. One of his films won, "Eternity and A Day" (1999). Another, "Ulysses' Gaze" (1997) came in second place. His "Alexander the Great" (1980) won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. But in America he has never once been nominated for an Oscar. Several American critics throw out adjectives such as tedious and portentous when describing his work. They claim he has a big ego and his films often fall under the heavy weight of his confidence. I won't do these mean-spirited critics the justice of mentioning their names but read reviews of his work and you'll see what I mean.
Of all the great visual filmmakers; Werner Herzog, Federico Fellini and Jean Cocteau, Angelopoulos I think is the greatest. A master of imagery. There are several sequences in any number of his films which years after seeing them stick out in my mind. "The Suspended Step of the Stork" is no exception.
Angelopoulos' films are slow-moving and meditative. He likes to shoot in extreme, unbroken long shots. Like Hungarian filmmaker Bela Tarr or Antonioni, Angelopoulos' films are often filled with scenes which some would argue go on too long. Long after the "meaning" of the shot has been established. His films have scenes other directors would throw on the cutting room floor. But Angelopoulos means to lull us. That is why his films are able to have a hypnotic power.
"The Suspended Step of the Stork" follows a reporter, Alexandre (Gregory Karr) who has travelled to the Albanian/Greece border to report on a story. What exactly that story is, is not quite made clear. We assume of course it has to do with the refugees. While on a military patrol he learns from a Colonel (Ilias Logothetis) about a small town which the locals call "the waiting room". We are told Turks, Kurds, Poles, Romanians, Albanian and Iranians have all come there seeking political asylum. The Greek authorities have put them on a waiting list which seems to grow longer and longer as they are to be sent "elsewhere".
Another scene shows the Colonel taking Alexandre to the border line between Albania and Greece. As we see in the poster the Colonel suspends his leg, as if like a stork, claiming "if I take one more step I'm "elsewhere" or I die."
It is in this town that Alexandre believes he has found a former Greek politician that has been missing for years. He wrote a book explaining how Greece must open its borders and stop the inhumanity of closed borders. But at the time the book was largely criticized. The politician has never been seen again.
With this new belief he finds the politician's wife (Jeanne Moreau) to get her interpretation of what happened all those years ago. At first she is reluctant to talk about it. She went through all of this before and doesn't want to relive the memories.
The man who Alexandre claims to be the politician is an Albanian (Marcello Mastroianni). His wife died he says as they crossed over into Greece. Now he only has his daughter (Dora Hrisikou).
In these scenes "The Suspended Step of the Stork" plays like a suspense film. Is this man really the politician Alexandre thinks he is? Eventually the man and the wife meet, thanks to Alexandre. She claims he is not the man. But in an earlier scene the wife says her husband turned into a different man. When she tells Alexandre the man she saw is not her husband does she mean he is not the man he used to be? That's another question that is never answered but in the long run does it really matter?
One of the most striking scenes in the film is of a wedding. The man's daughter is about to be married. The problem is the groom lives on the opposite side of the border, still in Albania. They meet by a river with her on one side him on another. A priest comes and conducts the ceremony. This sequence perhaps best illustrates the division of borders. It has not just kept the lovers separate but has divided a village.
The sequence runs roughly about 18 minutes. Outside of a few sound effects, the sound of the river and some birds chirping, it is silent. It has a devastating power because of what it represents.
Another powerful image is of a deserted train where all the refugees live. The camera pans from left to right showing us the poverty in which these people live in. They are away form their homes, their families. They have give up their lives all for the idea of a better life which they simply haven't found yet.
And finally a scene in a restaurant/bar showcases Angelopoulos' use of space. In this sequence he divides the frame in half and in thirds and creates an imaginary line between two characters, in a way connecting them. No filmmaker, in my opinion, is able to set-up a frame the way Angelopoulos does. He makes full use of the screen putting the smallest details within the corners of a frame.
And for a film about borders it must be pointed out we have an international cast here. Mastroianni is of course a well-known Italian actor who has appeared in numerous Fellini films such as "8 1\2" and "La Dolce Vita". And Moreau is a French actresses, some say one of the greatest that ever lived. Her resume would certainly have you believe it. She has worked with Luis Bunuel in "Diary of a Chambermaid", Godard in "A Woman Is A Woman", Truffaut in "Jules & Jim", probably her best known performance, Antonioni in "La Notte" and a pair of films with Orson Welles; "The Trial" and "Chimes at Midnight".
"The Suspended Step of the Stork" is a film which I have been searching for at least five years. It may have been longer but I simply stopped counting after a while. The film was released theatrically in America in 1992 but never put on VHS or DVD. European copies existed but were rare to come by. Only now I have seen this film after getting a copy of a Greek DVD. As far as I know there is no American release upcoming for this title. However, if you have a region free DVD player I would strongly urge you to find a copy of it.
While I appreciate much of what "The Suspended Step of the Stork" does I must admit I wasn't hit as emotionally by it as I have been by some of his other work including "Landscape in the Mist", which I have reviewed on here, "Eternity and A Day" and "Ulysses' Gaze". Still though one cannot deny the film has powerful images and a socially relevant commentary.
I want to offer one more helpful insight into Angelopoulos' work. Those that do venture out to view one of his films keep in mind, regardless of the film, you have to be in the right mindset. As I said these films are slow moving. You have to be relaxed and calm prior to watching his films. This is a different kind of story-telling.
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