I can take Bruno Ganz any day! This one, it's more of a subdued role -- it reminds me of "Everybody's Fine", I can picture Marcello Mastroianni in the lead role of this story. Ganz appeared with a beard and delivered a restrained performance.
Bruno Ganz exudes a certain strength and energy in the characters he played (Wim Wenders' "Wings of Desire" 1988, Gillian Armstrong's "The Last Days of Chez Nous" 1992), with an outward strong physique. This role is sort of different: he is portraying a man beset with an illness and is unsettled about his upcoming hospitalization. He's also "tormented" by his own conscience of past episodes he had with his beloved wife -- her presence recurs in "haunting" flashbacks at this fragile juncture of his impending life's end.
It's his journey and adventure with a little boy whom he by chance (or fate) met. The child became a link to the revived life force and energy in Alexander (Ganz' character). No more brushing off things, no more "doesn't have time" excuses; he is to re-prioritize the events and things in his life and to make a difference -- to do something meaningful for someone other than himself -- to this little boy (in turn to himself). The child's situation prompted him to take risks -- it's about time for him to do so. He's finally experiencing living!
The little boy brought him back to life, living, and caring -- woke him up, freed his self-blaming mind and pulled him out of his doldrums. The realization that action speaks louder than words (literally so when he's a writer all his life) gave him fresh insights.
The whole film is poetically put together. Director Angelopoulos has intermixed political, intellectual issues with aspects of life events and levels of emotions. Good performances from Ganz, the little boy, and Anna, the wife. The story has its episodic twists and turns, reality and flashbacks, chase scenes (yes, there is action) and "mindwalks", yet there is a certain steady pace and quietness to the film. Some might find it slow and will need patience to follow the film -- don't go if you're tired, you might miss the nuances of Angelopoulos' poetic storytelling and subtle image hints. It's a beautiful, philosophical, and mind-probing piece -- prompts us to reflect on how we lead our lives. Definitely not Hollywood fare. NFE.
I find an affinity of story structure to the current box office hit, "The Sixth Sense", which also revolves around a man, a child, (and a woman): a man finding redemption through the time he spent with a little boy, and trying to resolve his neglectful past relationship with his wife. In this case, "The Sixth Sense" is more "real" while "Eternity and A Day" is more like a dream state. Also brings to mind is Francesco Rosi's "Christ Stopped at Eboli" 1979 (in Italian with Gian Maria Volonte, Irene Papas), another quiet philosophical journey of a man discovering life, living and himself among simple village folks.
Bruno Ganz exudes a certain strength and energy in the characters he played (Wim Wenders' "Wings of Desire" 1988, Gillian Armstrong's "The Last Days of Chez Nous" 1992), with an outward strong physique. This role is sort of different: he is portraying a man beset with an illness and is unsettled about his upcoming hospitalization. He's also "tormented" by his own conscience of past episodes he had with his beloved wife -- her presence recurs in "haunting" flashbacks at this fragile juncture of his impending life's end.
It's his journey and adventure with a little boy whom he by chance (or fate) met. The child became a link to the revived life force and energy in Alexander (Ganz' character). No more brushing off things, no more "doesn't have time" excuses; he is to re-prioritize the events and things in his life and to make a difference -- to do something meaningful for someone other than himself -- to this little boy (in turn to himself). The child's situation prompted him to take risks -- it's about time for him to do so. He's finally experiencing living!
The little boy brought him back to life, living, and caring -- woke him up, freed his self-blaming mind and pulled him out of his doldrums. The realization that action speaks louder than words (literally so when he's a writer all his life) gave him fresh insights.
The whole film is poetically put together. Director Angelopoulos has intermixed political, intellectual issues with aspects of life events and levels of emotions. Good performances from Ganz, the little boy, and Anna, the wife. The story has its episodic twists and turns, reality and flashbacks, chase scenes (yes, there is action) and "mindwalks", yet there is a certain steady pace and quietness to the film. Some might find it slow and will need patience to follow the film -- don't go if you're tired, you might miss the nuances of Angelopoulos' poetic storytelling and subtle image hints. It's a beautiful, philosophical, and mind-probing piece -- prompts us to reflect on how we lead our lives. Definitely not Hollywood fare. NFE.
I find an affinity of story structure to the current box office hit, "The Sixth Sense", which also revolves around a man, a child, (and a woman): a man finding redemption through the time he spent with a little boy, and trying to resolve his neglectful past relationship with his wife. In this case, "The Sixth Sense" is more "real" while "Eternity and A Day" is more like a dream state. Also brings to mind is Francesco Rosi's "Christ Stopped at Eboli" 1979 (in Italian with Gian Maria Volonte, Irene Papas), another quiet philosophical journey of a man discovering life, living and himself among simple village folks.