788. Topio stin omichli/Landscape in the Mist (1988)

Running Time: 123 minutes
Directed By: Theo Angelopoulos
Written By: Theo Angelopoulos, Eric Heumann, Stephane Sorlat
Main Cast: Michalis Zeke, Tania Palaiologou, Stratos Tzortzoglou, Vassilis Kolovos, Ilias Logothetis
Click here to view the trailer

400!

It's surreal to me to realize that this is the 400th movie review I've written and more importantly, the 400th film I've watched on my 1001 film long journey. However, I won't harp on that accomplishment (yet), but rather, we'll focus on the business at hand and Theo Angelopoulos' "Landscape in the Mist".

Pre-teen Voula (Palaiologou) and the even younger Alexandre (Zeke) are brother and sister. When the film opens, the two children approach a train station and we hear an announcement letting us know that the train is headed for Germany. They approach the doors, but don't enter the train. The next night, they do the same thing, but this time board the train. However, they're kicked off when they're found without tickets. We find out that they're in search of their father, whom their mother told them lived in Germany. They're informed by their uncle, that the father is simply some random man and that his residence in Germany was made up by their mother. They refuse to believe this and since they can't seem to stay onboard the train, they decide to hitchhike to Germany, to meet the father whom they miss intensely, despite never meeting him. On the way, they are befriended by Orestis (Tzortzoglou), a theater actor who drives a motorcycle and despite thinking the children are weird, loves them. However, their time with Orestis doesn't last and later, they hitch a ride with a truck driver, which proves to be a bad idea. Trekking through the rain, snow and fog, the children won't rest until they're united with their father, who may or may not exist.

Call me stupid, but I've always found it very difficult to get into movies where children are the main characters. I mean, I really have absolutely no reasoning for it, it's just one of those things I can't explain. This movie kind of gave off a really wholesome feeling and aside from the camerawork, the music and a few choice scenes, this really came off as the Greek equivalent to a Lifetime movie - two kids searching for their father, hitchhiking along the roads and meeting different characters along the way.

However, despite my inexplicable hesitancy's along the way, there's really no denying that this picture had traces of brilliance. Yorgos Arvinitis' camerawork was, by far, the best part of the film. There are so many visual feasts as you watch "Landscape in the Mist", that most of the time the plot doesn't really matter. There's also a slow, melancholy score that accompanies the children as they trek across Greece, and at times, you're forced to feel, even when you're not feeling the entire picture. I'll keep it short today, but give this one a shot. It's not perfect (at least from my perspective), but the visual imagery alone is worth your time.

RATING: 7/10 Maybe I'm being a tad generous, but it's the day I hit 400, so I have reason to be a little generous. And then there was 1!

MOVIES WATCHED: 400
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 601

January 15, 2012 2:32pm