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Eternity and a Day, directed by Theo Angelopoulos, mainly tells a story that Alexandre, a dying old man, spends a whole day with a little boy saved by him. This film was inspired by the death of an actor once cooperating with Angelopoulos (Andrew, 1998, p. 114) and thus it may involve “philosophical ruminations” (Guthmann, 2012, para. 1) on life and death. To effectively convey these philosophical thoughts, Angelopoulos seems to create “an unhurried and reflective pace” (Horton, 2010, p. 23) through his unique film style consisting of cinematography, mise-en-scene, and sounds. Hence, as viewers, we just need to follow his pace to “slow down, observe, listen” (Guthmann, 2012, para. 1).
Angelopoulos once said that the three words collected by Alexandre, which are “korfulamu”, “xenitis” and “argathini”, are the essence of this film and can summarize Alexandre’s whole life (Bachmann, 1997, p. 108). Thus, the film’s last shot (1:58:33-2:05:58), where Alexandre constantly recites these three words, deserves careful consideration. This shot is about an illusion Alexandre has after separating from the boy and returning to his seaside house. He sees his mother sitting at a cradle first and then sees his wife Anna standing by the sea. Alexandre walks towards Anna and dances with her. He asks, “how long will tomorrow last?”. After Anna answering him, “eternity and a day”, she disappears. Finally, Alexandre stands by the sea alone and recites these three words. From afar comes the voice of his mother calling him.
“Korfulamu”: New Life
In Greek, “korfulamu” means the feeling of a newborn sleeping in its mother’s arms (Bachmann, 1997, p. 108), indicating the new life. In this shot, Alexandre sees his mother sitting nearby a pram, which is in line with “korfulamu”. When the door is opening, the camera slowly moves forward. Alexandre's mother and the pram gradually appear on the right side of the frame. In Figure 1, Angelopoulos uses aperture framing to highlight Alexandre’s mother and the pram. The doorframe is partially preserved, and thus viewers’ attention tends to be focused on the mother and pram. During such a slow 15-second camera movement, viewers may have no choice but to constantly guess the shot’s meaning (Bordwell, 2005, p. 166). For most viewers, one of the most common imagery of a mother and baby, perhaps, is a new life. Angelopoulos, meanwhile, may display this image through the three-quarter dorsality used to shoot the mother, refusing to directly show her facial expression and forcing viewers to observe characters’ gestures instead. The mother hums to the lively music, also a diegetic sound in this shot, and gently shakes the pram. Such gentleness seems to further show a mother’s tenderness to a new life. Hence, in line with “korfulamu”, the director tends to express the birth of a new life, which is the beginning of life.
“Xenitis”: A Stranger
After the birth of new life, the second stage of life will begin. “Xenitis" means a stranger or the feeling of exile, referring to the soul state (Bachman, 1997, p. 108). This shot may indicate that Alexandre’s soul is wandering in strangeness for decades. Firstly, the aperture frame appears again in Figure 2, allowing viewers to look through the iron gate to see a planimetric background, in which many characters stand vertically, forming a line-up parallel to the horizon (Bordwell, 1997, p. 21). Combining the aperture frame with the planimetric background, the boardwalk and Anna in the middle ground are emphasized. Therefore, within 20 seconds of Alexandre walking on the boardwalk towards Anna (Figure 3), viewers may keep their attention on the dilapidated boardwalk, the fence, and Anna at the end of the road. The process of Alexandre walking on it may imply that Alexandre's lost soul is wandering in strangeness, echoing with “xenitis”. He has devoted nearly all his life to writing but overlooks his family. At the end of his life, Alexandre finds that everything seems to be meaningless, which also verifies that his soul has been lost in the strangeness. At the same time, a man uses his accordion to play Eternity Theme, a song composed by Eleni Karaindrou. This sentimental diegetic sound seems to show the tragedy and strangeness of life, conforming to Alexandre's lost soul. Alexandre regrets that he did not cherish his family and might try to compensate for it. So, in his illusion, he hugs Anna again at the end of his “lost road” and dances with his family. This may mean that after ending his lost soul journey, his soul no longer wanders in strangeness and finally returns “home”.
“Argathini” ：Death
The third word is “argathini”, meaning too late at night (Bachman, 1997, p. 108). Although Alexandre has ended his “lost journey”, it may be too late for him to plan for tomorrow, because he has little time left. In the latter half of the shot, Anna has already left, and Alexandre is walking towards the sea, constantly saying: "korfulam, xenitis, me, argathini”. Finally, there is no road to go ahead, which might signal his life will come to the end as well. As the camera zooms slowly, a long-focal-length shot nearly turns the sea into a big blue backdrop in Figure 4 (Bordwell & Thompson, 2016, p. 172). The sound of waves and winds expresses a sense of emptiness. The combination of the vast landscape, the “empty” sound, and Alexandre’s worn-out black costume further magnifies his loneliness in the face of death. After a while, Alexandre's mother seems to call his name behind the camera. However, by keeping Alexandre’s back to viewers, Angelopoulos refuses to reveal Alexandre’s reaction and then invites viewers to independently think about what the voice means. If linked to these three words, life may begin its reincarnation after birth, wandering, and death. Hence, the mother's call may refer to reincarnation, which might further confirm Alexandre's imminent death. After death, new life will be born, and a newborn will lie in the arms of its mother again.
Unlike Angelopoulos’ other films with an epic dimension, Eternity and a Day is emotional and lyrical (Horton, 2016, p. 214). Angelopoulos once mentioned that as growing older, he tried to figure out what people would do before death (Andrew, 1998, p. 114). Therefore, in the last shot, through the combination of visual composition and sounds, this film tends to display Alexandre’s whole life to viewers, consisting of the new life, lost soul, and death, and further provoke their philosophical thoughts.
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Reference List
Andrew, G. (1998). The Time of His Life: Eternity and a Day. In D. Fainaru (Ed.), Theo Angelopoulos Interviews (pp. 113-116). Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi.
Angelopoulos, T. (1998). Eternity and a Day. France, Italy, Greece, Germany: Paradis Films, Intermédias, La Sept Cinéma.
Bachmann, G. (1997). The Time That Flows By: Eternity and a Day. In D. Fainaru (Ed.), Theo Angelopoulos Interviews(pp. 101-112). Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi.
Bordwell, D. (1997). Modernism, minimalism, melancholy: Angelopoulos and visual style. In A. Horton (Ed.), The Last Modernist: The Films of Theo Angelopoulos (pp. 11-26). Trowbridge: Flicks Books.
Bordwell, D. (2005). Figures traced in light: on cinematic staging. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Bordwell, D., & Thompson, K. (2016). Film Art: An Introduction (10th ed.). Beijing: Beijing United Publishing Co.
Guthmann, E. (2012, Feb 1). A Man Faces His ‘Eternity’ and His Past/ Tranquil, elegiac film won the Palme D’Or [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/A-Man-Faces-His-Eternity-and-His-Past-2909205.php
Horton, A. (2010, December 22). The master of slow cinema: space and time--actual, historical, and mythical--in the films of Theo Angelopoulos. Cineaste, 36(1), 23.
Horton, A. (2016). The Films of Theo Angelopoulos: A Cinema of Contemplation (With a new afterword by the author). Princeton: Princeton University Press.
