Movies
Ulysses' Gaze
Theo Angelopoulos, the esoterically esteemed Greek director, blends past and present, history and fiction, Balkan politics and Bazinian aesthetics, in an "epic" quest (i.e., three hours in length) for some legendary lost reels from the dawn of cinema. Sluggish, solemn, deeply felt if not necessarily strongly communicated, it plays almost like a Philistine parody of an art film. The steady, studied long takes are the real deal, but the dialogue ("Isn't it strange? Isn't it always the way? In the end is my beginning") is full of hot air, and Harvey Keitel, naked again, is a fish out of water. With Erland Josephson, Maia Morgenstern. 1995.
Reader Rating:
MPAA Rating: NR
