''Ulysses' Gaze'' (, translit. ''To Vlemma tou Odyssea'') is a 1995 internationally co-produced war

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Theo Angelopoulos Theodoros "Theo" Angelopoulos (; (27 April 1935 – 24 January 2012) was a Greek filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer. He dominated the Greek art film industry from 1975 on, and Angelopoulos was one of the most influential and widely respect ...

, loosely based on

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

's epic poem ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

'', and starring

Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor and film producer, known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running associatio ...

, Maia Morgenstern and Erland Josephson. The film was selected as the Greek entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 68th Academy Awards but it was not nominated.

Plot

Successful Greek filmmaker, A (Harvey Keitel), returns to Greece. He has come to participate in a screening of one of his earlier films and to begin a personal journey across the Balkans. After the screening is disrupted by local ideological conflict, A takes a taxi from Greece to

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. Ostensibly A is searching for 3 undeveloped reels of film shot by the Manaki brothers. The mysterious reels could predate the brother's first film, ''The Weavers'', which is believed to be the first film shot in the Balkans. A's journey fuses his own memories, the experiences of the Manaki brothers, and contemporary images of the Balkans. A drifts from Albania to

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. He travels on a train, a barge laden with a statue of

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

( Polyphemus) and eventually a row boat. Though A makes some acquaintances along the way, he never lingers. His search for the roots of cinema, memory, and the Balkan identity pull him inevitably towards decay and death. eventually travels to the besieged

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

. He meets Ivo Levy (Erland Josephson), the curator of an underground cinema archive who had attempted to develop the missing reels before the war. A convinces Levy to continue his work with the reels. The film ends on a rare foggy day in Sarajevo. Ironically the fog protects locals from snipers and gives the city a rare chance to flourish. explores the city with Levy's family. Near the river the family encounters military personnel and they are executed.

Cast

as A * Maia Morgenstern as Woman In A's Home Town (

Penelope Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or , ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Homer's Ithaca, Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius (Spartan), Icarius and ...

) / Kali ( Calypso) / Widow (

Circe In Greek mythology, Circe (; ) is an enchantress, sometimes considered a goddess or a nymph. In most accounts, Circe is described as the daughter of the sun god Helios and the Oceanid Perse (mythology), Perse. Circe was renowned for her vast kn ...

) / Naomi (

Nausicaa Nausicaa (; , or , ), also spelled Nausicaä or Nausikaa, is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey''. She is the daughter of King Alcinous and Arete (mythology), Queen Arete of Scheria, Phaeacia. Her name means "burner of ships" ( 'ship'; 'to burn' ...

) * Erland Josephson as Ivo Levy * Thanassis Veggos as Taxi Driver * Yorgos Michalakopoulos as Nikos * Dora Volanaki as The Old Lady In Albania * Mania Papadimitriou as A's Mother

Production

''Ulysses' Gaze'' is part of Angelopoulos' trilogy on borders, his first film made outside of Greece. The film shown at the beginning was inspired by a screening of Angelopoulos' earlier '' The Suspended Step of the Stork''. The dialog played over loudspeakers in the town square was spoken by

Marcello Mastroianni Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni (26 September 1924Come da lui stesso dichiarato a 1'10" dquesta intervista/ref> – 19 December 1996) was an Italian actor. He is generally regarded as one of Italy's most iconic male performers of the 20t ...

. Gian Maria Volonté died during filming, and was replaced by Erland Josephson. The film is dedicated to Volonté's memory.

Music

Eleni Karaindrou composed the

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

, which was released through ECM in 1995.EMC Records
/ref> Featuring: * Kim Kashkashian – viola * Vangelis Christopoulos – oboe * Andreas Tsekourad – accordion * Socratis Anthis – trumpet * Vangelis Skouras – French Horn * Christos Sfetsas – violoncello * Georgia Voulvi – voice * Lefteris Chalkiadakis – conductor *

Manfred Eicher Manfred Eicher (born 9 July 1943) is a German record producer and the founder of ECM Records. Life and career Eicher was born in Lindau, Germany. He studied music at the Academy of Music in Berlin. He started as a double-bass player of classi ...

- producer ;Track listing

Accolades

* Grand Jury Prize -

1995 Cannes Film Festival The 48th Cannes Film Festival took place from 17 to 28 May 1995. French actress Jeanne Moreau served as jury president for the main competition. French actress Carole Bouquet hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. Serbian filmmaker Emir Kust ...

*Critics Award 1995 -

European Film Academy The European Film Academy is a group of European film director, filmmakers who come together in Berlin on the occasion of the first presentation of the European Film Awards in November 1988. Every year, the European Film Academy honors films an ...

*All-TIME 100 Movies - ''

TIME Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine *The Top 100 Films of All Time - '' The Moving Arts Film Journal''

References

External links

* * *
Ulysses' Gaze (1995)
TIME Magazine All-Time 100 best films {{Authority control 1995 drama films 1995 films English-language Greek films 1990s Greek-language films Romanian-language films Bosnian-language films Serbian-language films Films directed by Theodoros Angelopoulos Films shot in Serbia Films based on the Odyssey Films set in Greece Films set in Albania Films set in North Macedonia Films set in Bulgaria Films set in Bosnia and Herzegovina Films set in Romania Films set in Serbia Films with screenplays by Tonino Guerra Films scored by Eleni Karaindrou Films shot in Florina Greek drama films 1990s Greek films Modern adaptations of the Odyssey Cannes Grand Prix winners 1990s English-language films 1995 multilingual films Greek multilingual films Films about the Siege of Sarajevo