Ulysses' Gaze

This renowned film won the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1995; and was made by an equally renowned director, Theo Angelopoulos (The Travelling Players, Landscape in the Mist); and concerns an important historical event (the war in former Yugoslavia); and is only now, two years after its triumph at Cannes, being released on video in the United States...and so only a fool would dare to point out, however reluctantly, that it's a tedious, pretentious, butt-numbing three hours of landscape fetishization. As you've no doubt surmised, I am that fool. The minimalist plot finds "A" (a badly miscast Harvey Keitel) traveling from one war-torn country to the next in search of some lost silent footage by early Greek filmmakers, which would be fine if we had the foggiest notion of why this quest is so important to him that he's repeatedly willing to risk life and limb to locate the elusive three reels. (Pee-Wee's Big Adventure may not be Topical or Significant, but at least you understand why Pee-Wee is desperate to find his cool bike.) Not recommended. (M. D'Angelo)