The Films of Theo Angelopoulos: A Voyage in Time Evangelos Makrygiannakis Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Edinburgh 2008 Abstract This thesis provides a critical enquiry into the films of Theo Angelopoulos. Dividing his films into two periods—the one running through the seventies and the other starting with the advent of the eighties—I will examine the representation of history in the first period of Angelopoulos and the metaphor of the journey in his subsequent films. Furthermore, I will trace the development of an aesthetic based on long takes which evokes a particular sense of time in his films. This aesthetic, which is based on the internal rhythm of the shot, inscribes a temporality where past, present, and future coexist in a contemporaneous image. Being free from the requirements of an evolving plot, this image is an autonomous image which allows the passing of time to be felt. Autonomy, which I will define after philosopher Cornelius Castoriadis as an immanent movement towards change, can be also used to describe the process of changing oneself or a given society from within. In exploring the resonances autonomy has, I will make a connection between the social and the cinematic; an attempt which is informed by what Angelopoulos’ films do of their own accord. In this way, I will suggest that Angelopoulos is important not only for the history of film but also for one’s modus vivendi. iii iv Acknowledgements I would like to deeply thank my supervisors, the late Professor Dietrich Scheunemann, Professor Martine Beugnet and Professor John Orr, for all their precious feedback and support throughout the years. I would also like to thank those that have been my friends and companions during my time here in Edinburgh and who have shaped my every day life: Stella for being there through this last period and before, Tony for the delightful surplus of words and for the nights of screenings at your flat, Stefane the world is our rock lobster: thank you for the little bits of madness that bring the sun back on a cloudy day and for more, Georgia smoke shall be our shield: thank you for the many discussions over the phone and for being one of the few smokers left in this country, Penny let our music flow: for the gigs we went to see and for those that we are about to see and also for the poster of Kaligari, Niko for being the only classic orchestral punk I know and for being the leader, Antoni for the time of onica we spent in the kitchen and for the image with the flowers and the whiskey, Giorgo for the ride with the van after the night at the Quarry and for keeping F.D. alive, Tijanna for being supportive, Dimitri and Petro for the great ride in the North which continues and for bringing me in contact with the Maestro, Sylvana and Christo for the night of the Road to Nowhere, Anesti for the Sunday meetings for coffee throughout the years, Vangeli and Maria for embarking the ship right before the end, Antoni for your music selections that have been a great Friday companion, the vm crew for keeping the concept of radio still alive, Saki for being there for more than ten years and for your frequent visits to Edinburgh, Scott for your support in the Library during hard times, David for being more than a gentleman. And the absent present: the Vangelis Trinity, My dear brother Giorgo who keeps putting up with my whims, Vana, Aristh, Michali. Last but not least I want to thank my father who made it all possible: for his endless faith, love and support. v vi Declaration I declare that this thesis was composed by myself, that the work contained herein is my own except where explicitly stated otherwise in the text, and that this work has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification except as specified. (Vangelis Makrigiannakis) vii viii Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………………iii Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………...v INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………….1 RECONSTRUCTION / ΑΝΑΠΑΡΑΣΤΑΣΗ…………………………………….25 Reconstruction: the herald of N.E.K. (New Greek Cinema)………………………..25 Greece is not sunny any more………………………………………………………31 The narrative of Reconstruction: Against the system of suture…………………….37 The use of Myth…………………………………………………………………….50 DAYS OF ’36 / ΜΕΡΕΣ ΤΟΥ’36…………………………………………………57 Framing the unsaid………………………………………………………………….61 When two sequences collide………………………………………………………..64 THE TRAVELLING PLAYERS / Ο ΘΙΑΣΟΣ………………………………….75 The narrative of The Travelling Players……………………………………………77 The Epic…………………………………………………………………………….87 Time…………………………………………………………………………………97 Death?……………………………………………………………………………...101 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………106 THE HUNTERS / OI KYNHΓΟΙ………………………………………………..109 Closing the circle…………………………………………………………………..111 “He was talking to the corpse…I could not overhear what they were saying.”…...123 Back into the snow………………………………………………………………...130 ix MEGALEXANDROS / Ο ΜΕΓΑΛΕΞΑΝΤΡΟΣ……………………………….135 The sublime image of Megalexandros…………………………………………….141 Power Over and Power Against…………………………………………………...148 The Dialectic of the Shot………………………………………………………… 157 VOYAGE TO CYTHERA / ΤΑΞΙΔΙ ΣΤΑ ΚΥΘΗΡΑ…………………………169 “One, two…One, two… I’m losing the tempo…”………………………………...172 Objectivity/subjectivity…………………………………………………………….180 THE BEEKEEPER / Ο ΜΕΛΙΣΣΟΚΟΜΟΣ…………………………………..195 A journey to the south……………………………………………………………..197 The drifter………………………………………………………………………….206 LANDSCAPE IN THE MIST / ΤΟΠΙΟ ΣΤΗΝ ΟΜΙΧΛΗ……………………213 The space between...................................................................................................221 THE SUSPENDED STEP OF THE STORK / ΤΟ ΜΕΤΕΩΡΟ ΒΗΜΑ ΤΟΥ ΠΕΛΑΡΓΟΥ………………………………………………………227 The silence of the chorus………………………………………………………….233 ULYSSES’ GAZE / ΤΟ ΒΛΕΜΜΑ ΤΟΥ ΟΔΥΣΣΕΑ…………………………259 A new beginning? ...................................................................................................266 ETERNITY AND A DAY / ΜΙΑ ΑΙΩΝΙΟΤΗΤΑ ΚΑΙ ΜΙΑ ΜΕΡΑ…………273 To the Sea…………………………………………………………………………293 CONCLUSION: A HISTORY OF RUINATION……………………………....299 FILMOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………313 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………...319 x INTRODUCTION Imagine that you are sitting in the cinema and the following sequence is projected on the screen. The sequence starts with an image that shows the front entrance of a hotel on the side of a lake in a mountainous area. To one side of the hotel lies a pier. The camera frames the entrance of the hotel and the start of the pier. A group of middle- aged men together with their wives come out of the hotel with glasses of wine in their hands and singing merrily, some of them waving their hands to the rhythm of the tune. Their dress suggests that they all belong to an upper middle class milieu. The song they are singing is a Royalist anthem in favour of the king of Greece. The group walk down the few steps in front of the hotel and start moving towards the pier. Suddenly they freeze and look off screen to the right towards the pier. They remain there suspended; their singing stops and is replaced by the sound of a harmonica coming from offscreen towards where they are looking. The camera that had been still, observing the group from a certain distance, now performs a panoramic movement towards the right. Through the pan the gaze of the camera bypasses the pier and then introduces a procession of rowing boats on the lake. All the boats are carrying red flags. Having left the pier out of frame, the camera now focuses on the procession of boats that sail by at a certain distance from the edge of the lake. The sound of the harmonica accompanies the procession. High mountains are visible in the background. The camera then falls still again as it records the boats as they pass by before disappearing off screen to the left. The whole sequence is staged in one long take. A cut ends the sequence. Welcome to the cinema of Theo Angelopoulos. The sequence described above comes from his 1977 film The Hunters, a film rarely seen outside Greece yet in my view one of his most accomplished films. The film tells the story of a group of hunters whose members are representative types of the new ruling order that emerged after the end of the Civil War in Greece, which broke out in 1946 and ended in 1949. The film presents the group as haunted by a past that they are trying to suppress: a past that erupts continuously into the present in order to foil their attempts to enjoy a feast. The 1 film also serves to remind the viewer that this new ruling order was built on top of acts of violence and suppression against those who were defeated in the war and against those who found themselves clinging on to socialist ideals. The sequence described above is one example of this. Before giving an overview of this thesis, I would like to explain why I chose to start with this particular sequence. I believe that all the basic elements that constitute Angelopoulos’ cinema are condensed into it; it also contains most of the themes that I will raise throughout this thesis. The sequence is filmed in one long take. It shows an interconnected action between two groups in a unified time and space. This action takes the form of a collision. The group of the rowing boats represents a past which the group of hunters is trying to suppress. This past nevertheless erupts into the present and forms an event which is staged in a somewhat monumental fashion. In addition the action takes place in a natural location. The camera frames the action of the group but it also frames the space between them. The sequence has a meaning which is there but not directly given. The camera observes and reveals the action in its process of becoming. In a manner similar to the juxtaposition of two groups in the sequence from The Hunters, I would now like to juxtapose the whole sequence with the following quote. The extract is taken from Walter Benjamin’s essay ‘Theses on the philosophy of History’. A Klee painting named Angelus Novus shows an angel looking as though he is about to move away from something he is fixedly contemplating.