"Eternity And A Day" *** (out of ****)Memories, longings and love last an eternity in Theo Angelopoulos' "Eternity And A Day" (1999).
There are some that consider "Eternity And A Day" to be Greek filmmaker Theo Angelopoulos' grand achievement. The former Chicago Tribune movie critic Michael Wilmington declared it the best movie of 1999. It was the only film - directed by a man I call the master of imagery - to ever win the Palme d' Or at the Cannes Film Festival. It was his fifth nomination and some say sweet revenge for Mr. Angelopoulos, who three years prior was nominated for "Ulysses' Gaze" (1997), which came in second place, much to Mr. Angelopoulos' vocal disappointment.
But it is with "Ulysses' Gaze" that "Eternity And A Day" shares much in common with and because of my undying love and appreciation for "Gaze" I am unable to declare "Eternity" a masterpiece. It is not the popular opinion - even among Angelopoulos fans, the three of us that exist. "Gaze" is a movie I found to be a lyrical, poetic, haunting, philosophical exploration of a man searching for his soul and desire to return to that magical place called home.
To a certain extent one can describe "Eternity And A Day" in a similar way. They wouldn't be entirely wrong either. In both cases we are dealing with an artist. In "Eternity" it is a writer named Alexandre (Bruno Ganz) who is searching for the unsearchable. Life has turned into a bitter and disappointing experience and now the end is near. Alexandre has one of those fatal movie illnesses where a cough leads to death. He will check into a hospital the next day and anticipates it will be his last day alive.
In an early scene Alexandre and his housekeeper are saying their goodbyes. She ask if she may go with him to the hospital and he tells her, why make this harder than it has to be? Initially I thought Alexandre was putting on a brave face, so his housekeeper, whom he has spent three years with, would not cry. After taking another look and listening to his character's voice (which I don't believe is Ganz speaking Greek but a dubbed voice) Alexandre seems to have relinquished life. He speaks in a matter-of-fact way that he will die soon. He even tells the housekeeper, he hopes she didn't pack too much for his hospital stay. It is a defeatist tone.
Through a voice-over narration, as he speaks his thoughts to his already deceased wife, Anna (Isabelle Renauld), Alexandre tells us his regret in life is that his plans have always remained just that - plans. And so we are dealing with an unfulfilled life. It is not until later in the film however Alexandre breaks down to his sick mother (Despina Bebedelli) and cries why didn't life turn out as they wanted. Alexandre made bad choices, always putting his art before his wife and daughter. We hear letters Anna has written expressing her distance to her husband. He has decided to devote his time to completing a 19th century's poet unfinished poem - what else would a man who has lead an unfulfilled life do? And now Alexandre must live with his choices. He has lived a life of isolation. Now, at the end of his life, he realizes what that decision has cost him.
However, there may be a moment of salvation for Alexandre in the form of an Albanian refugee, a small child (Achileas Skevis). Alexandre rescues the child from a police crackdown and later from the black market, where wealthy foreigners buy the children. Alexandre must get the child back to the Albanian border. At first he tries to pay someone else to do it - a bus driver, a cab driver. But, remember, we are dealing with a man who says he has never followed through on plans. No, today, his last day, is the day he must complete a task.
There is a sense Mr. Angelopoulos is playing with time. Alexandre the past and the child the future. Could that also be Alexandre motivation? Is this a life he can protect? A life that may show promise and not make the same failed life choices Alexandre has made? That would recall Ingmar Bergman's masterpiece "Wild Strawberries" (1959), also the story of a man reflecting on a flawed life and the realization his son may be following in his footsteps. That may be at play but Mr. Angelopoulos doesn't provide direct answers.
The past and present weave effortlessly in this story as Alexandre keeps going back to the days when his wife was alive. But, if you pay close attention, often Alexandre is not present in those memories. He is nowhere to be seen when Anna shows guest their daughter. He is off to the side, with his mother, at a party. These bittersweet memories clash with the modern day tragedy (?) of trying to cross borders to save a child.
Theo Angelopoulos, who died in 2012 at age 76, never got his due in America. None of his films were ever nominated for an Academy Award. His movies are currently out of print on DVD and VHS and, as far as I know, not available on blu-ray. Movie critics (sheep) often ignored reviewing his films. Even the art-house crowd shied away from his work. Too bad. In the UK a DVD collection was released featuring all of his films in a three volume set.
Mr. Angelopoulos had a filmmaking style comprised of long shots, minimal camera movement, slow, deliberate pacing. Viewers are suppose to soak in the landscape. His movies were an experience. A collection of moods and tone. It isn't plot that so much droves his stories but our emotions, our reactions to the masterful images that were shown to us. It was a style of storytelling similar to Hungary's Bela Tarr or Italy's Michelangelo Antonioni. It was a kind of filmmaking that faded after the 1970s. That would explain the lack of appeal American audiences showed Mr. Angelopoulos' films.
While I have great affection of Mr. Angelopoulos' films, I placed two of them on my year end top ten lists, "Eternity And A Day" is one I can't call a masterpiece. I am not emotionally drawn into Alexandre's predicament. I didn't find the movie as meditative as other Angelopoulos films. It draws too similar a comparison to "Ulysses' Gaze" which I feel tackled these themes in a more poetic way. Still, "Eternity And A Day" should not go unseen. Twenty years after its American release the movie has charms and images to delight, not to mention a wonderful soundtrack.
The cinematic world is a lot poorer without Theo Angelopoulos, luckily we have many great works to take pleasure in (as soon as they become available again!!). "Eternity And A Day", for me, is not one of those great works, but, it is better than much of what is being released today.
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