Landscape in the Mist (1988)

SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Highly Overrated But Still Good

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

I seem to have the same reaction to each of Angelopoulos' films; flawed genius. But in each film, the flaws and what feels masterful is different. Mild spoilers ahead...In this story of a 12 year old girl and her younger brother on a fruitless journey for their non- existent father in Germany what works is the ultimate emotional impact of the piece (it left me in tears), and (as always) the sheer poetic power of some of Angelopoulos' images.On the other hand, a key supporting character (the youthful actor Oresteis) is thinly written and exists basically as an overly-convenient plot point. Some of the dialogue and ideas feel heavy handed, and some images are lifted from other director's films. And the references to his own earlier film 'The Traveling Players' are an interesting, brave style choice, but also a bit distracting and intellectual. The young girl's acting is mostly terrific, but the young boy feels fake at times, which doesn't help.There are scenes I'll never forget. Maybe the most disturbing (yet completely hidden) rape scene I've ever seen. But other scenes feel awkward or forced. This is the kind of film that may grow on revisiting, and I certainly plan to see it again.

The consistent gloomy weather throughout the film makes one wonder whether the director suffers from severe depression. Still, Angelopoulos's films are always interesting for all kinds of reasons and this one is no exception, although its obsessive commitment to heavy-handed symbolism and pretentious ambiguity does make it an often unbearable and tedious viewing. Its pessimistic -almost dismissive- view of maturity by the eyes of the two young protagonists is flatly conceived rendering the film rather tasteless, and the script itself looks written on foot. Nevertheless, it does have its intriguing moments and Angelopoulos's skepticism is always worth watching, but the fact that the exciting director who gave us "The Travelling Players" and "The Days Of '36" in the '70s is replaced here by a self-absorbed auteur is quite a let down in itself.

Alas, The Left Index has met its match. Usually, the index concerns seven variables when considering a film--acting, production scenes, dialogue, plot, character development, artistry, and continuity--on a scale ranging from a high of 10 to a low of 1. Generally, a mix of rating results in some score which demonstrates the strong and weak points in a film. With this film, every variable is ranked a 10, simply because the film is sensational in all areas. The film is powerful, intense and spellbinding. Everything is related to everything else, which, in effect, results in an organic whole which is seldom achieved in film. The acting is connected with the decisions the two children make as the travel to Germany, even not knowing where it is or what it is. They constantly have to decide whom to trust, how to avoid dangers, or which way is north. The production scenes are unparalleled, especially the snow scene at the police station, the horse and wedding in the town square, and the motorcycle rally. There are dozens of others just as good. The plot is propelled by constant dramatic action, which gradually intensifies towards the conclusion. Not matter what the viewer is prepared for, there are continual unexpected events which reinforce the plot. Character development is superb, as the children become both wiser and more experienced as they near their goal. Dialogue is sparse, words are spoken only when necessary, and some scenes are wordless. After all, film is a medium where one sees things happen. The films strongest point is in the combination of continuity and artistry. In a word, it is surreal in the classical manner of Salvadore Dali and Pablo Picasso. One is especially cognizant of Dali's "Persistance of Memory" in terms of the wide expanses of space. In fact, Theo Angelopoulos employs the three element of 20th century surrealism--land, sky, and water--very effectively. There are obvious allusions to Picasso's "Saltimbasques" with the traveling theater. Angelopoulos' illusion to the hand of God from the Sistine Chapel is unmistakable, especially with the missing finger which symbolizes human contact with salvation. All in all, The Left Elbow Index rates the film a 10-plus. I strongly recommend this film. Aristotle would have loved it. I think you will, too.

A broad social criticism on contemporary Greece of the 1980's. Some scenes more successful than others, and it does drag a bit and is, as is usual for Angelopoulos, a bit contrived. Worth making the effort for anyway. The most intense scenes are the rape scene which happens out of sight and consists of one long slow dolly shot, and the wedding scene in which the future of the bride is given metaphor by a dying horse being dragged down the road by a truck.