Eternity and a Day

While the running time might suggest that Theo Angelopoulos' moving, elegiac drama, which took the top prize at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, lasts an eternity and a day, patient viewers will be well rewarded. The magnificent Bruno Ganz (Wings of Desire) stars as Alexandre, a celebrated writer who is terminally ill. A self-described "loner," he is shuttering his beloved seaside retreat before entering the hospital. Transported back to an idyllic summer day while going through a packet of letters from his mourned late wife, Alexandre's reverie is interrupted when he encounters an eight-year-old Albanian refugee. While reconciling his past, he is determined to secure the boy's future. A mesmerizing, lyrical film, perhaps the most accessible from the director of the acclaimed Ulysses Gaze, this is warmly recommended. (K. Lee Benson)[DVD Review—Aug. 22, 2006—New Yorker, 130 min., in Greek w/English subtitles, not rated, $29.95—Making its first appearance on DVD, 1998's Eternity and a Day sports a nice transfer with a 22-minute video introduction by The Films of Theo Angelopoulos author Andrew Horton, a 10-minute “Analysis of a Shot” segment, “The Journey Through Time of Theo Angelopoulos” 1998 excerpt from the TV program Metropolis, text segments of poetry from Greek masters including Dionysios Solomos, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a fine film.]