LANDSCAPE IN THE MIST
A film review by Thomas E. Billings
Copyright 1989 Thomas E. Billings
Screened at the San Francisco International Film Festival (March 12, 1989).
Synopsis: Two young Greek children set off on an odyssey to find their Father. Their voyage takes them through a world dominated by adults, a strange, surreal, and savage world. A depressing, disturbing film.
Greece (Greek with English subtitles), 1988, color, 127 minutes.
Director/Producer: Theo Angelopoulos Screenplay: Theo Angelopoulos, Tonino Guerra, Thanassis Valtinos Principal Cast: Michalis Zeke, Tania Palaiologou, Stratos Tzortzoglou
The time is the present, the place: Greece. Two young children, Alexander (6 years old) and his sister Voula (11 years old) go to the Athens train station every night to await the return of their Father, a man they have never met or even seen pictures of. Their Father never arrives, and the children, desperate to find him, jump on a train to go to far-off Germany, where they believe their Father is to be found.
Thus begins the children's odyssey in the world of adults, as seen through their eyes. It isn't long before they are discovered by the train Conductor, and turned over to the Police. They tell the Police that they are on their way to visit their Uncle. When delivered to their Uncle, he repudiates them, telling the Police that he doesn't want to get involved, for the children are illegitimate. This is overheard by the girl, and she is very angry. The children are then taken to the Police station. At this point it starts to snow, which causes all the Police to go outside and stand like statues (literally) watching it snow. This allows the children to make a convenient escape, and continue their travels.
The children stubbornly continue their journey to Germany, and are alternately befriended, exploited, and brutalized by adults along the way. A member of a traveling theatre company helps them in their trip to the "border."
The adult world, as seen through the children's eyes, is a strange place indeed. For some reason, these adults are in the habit of standing as still as statues whenever the Director thinks it is convenient. Although this tends to give the picture a "surreal" feel, it is also quite ridiculous!
The picture of the adult world that this picture paints is bleak and despairing, cruel and savage. Be warned that there are some shocking scenes in this picture. In particular, there is a scene where a live horse is dragged on its side, down the road by a tractor. The rope breaks and the horse dies (apparently in great pain) in front of the children. As the horse dies, a wedding party emerges from a building in the background; they are celebrating a joyous wedding. The Director may have been trying to produce a great contrast here; all he succeeded in doing was disgusting me.
This film makes a very large emotional impact on the viewer. Unfortunately, the emotions it raises are: despair, depression, shock, and anger. It has been a long time since I have seen such a depressing film! In a certain sense, it is reasonable to describe this as a "real life horror film."
If you go to the movies to wallow in depression, then this is the movie for you! If you go to enjoy yourself, than avoid the pain by avoiding this film!
Reviewer: Thomas E. Billings; Department of Statistics University of California, Berkeley Reviewer contact: teb@stat.Berkeley.EDU
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