The Suspended Step of the Stork
| The Suspended Step of the Stork | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Greek release poster. | |
| Directed by | Theo Angelopoulos |
| Written by | Theo Angelopoulos Tonino Guerra, et al |
| Produced by | Theo Angelopoulos |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | |
| Music by | Eleni Karaindrou |
Release date |
|
Running time | 143 minutes; 126 minutes (Greece) |
| Country | Greece |
| Language | Greek |
The Suspended Step of the Stork (Greek: Το Mετέωρο Bήμα Tου Πελαργού, translit. To Meteoro Vima Tou Pelargou) is a 1991 Greek film directed by Theodoros Angelopoulos.[1] It was entered into the 1991 Cannes Film Festival.[2]
Cast
[edit]- Marcello Mastroianni as Missing Politician
- Jeanne Moreau as The Woman
- Gregory Patrikareas as Alexandre the Reporter (as Gregory Karr)
- Ilias Logothetis as Colonel
- Dora Hrisikou as The Girl
- Vassilis Bouyiouklakis as Production Manager
- Dimitris Poulikakos as Chief Photographer
- Gerasimos Skiadaressis as Waiter
- Tasos Apostolou as Perchman
- Akis Sakellariou as Sound Operator
- Athinodoros Prousalis as Hotel-keeper
- Mihalis Giannatos as Shopkeeper
- Christoforos Nezer as Parliament's President
- Yilmaz Hassan as Hanged Man
- Benjamin Ritter as Sound Operator
Plot
[edit]A journalist (Gregory Patrick Karr) is in a town on the border of Greece where refugees await approval of their papers. He notices an old man (Marcello Mastroianni) whom he suspects is a famous politician who, years ago, disappeared without a trace. He works to uncover the man's story, meeting one of his old lovers (Jeanne Moreau) in the process.
Themes
[edit]The film explores the concept of borders, specifically in relation to the history of the Balkans. In The films of Theo Angelopoulos: A Cinema of Contemplation, Andrew Horton writes that the images in Suspended Step "force us to meditate, in a clearer light, on the concept of borders and the territories-geographical, cultural, political, and personal-they lock in and out." He likens the structure of the film to that of Citizen Kane, noting that in Angelopoulos' film the reporter is a more individualized character. In Suspended Step, the journalist does not discover his "Rosebud", but rather gains an appreciation of the possibility of a new humanism in the process of border crossing. The final shot of the reporter watching phone lines being built embodies this idea, "offering the healing touch of movement beyond boundaries."[3]
Reception
[edit]New York Times critic Caryn James noted that although The Suspended Step of the Stork has "all the elements of a first-rate Angelopoulos film", it suffers from a "bland, banal" protagonist that "dissolves suspense wherever he turns." Though they offer praise for Mastroianni's performance, James refers to the film as "uneven" and "strained".[4]
References
[edit]- ^ James, Caryn (2007). "NY Times: The Suspended Step of the Stork". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2007-12-23. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: The Suspended Step of the Stork". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
- ^ Horton, Andrew (1997). The Films of Theo Angelopoulos: A Cinema of Contemplation. Princeton University Press. pp. 161–78. JSTOR j.ctt1dxg8q0.13. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ Caryn, James (23 September 1991). "Angelopoulos's Disillusioned Politician". The New York Times.
External links
[edit]| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
 | This article related to a Greek film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This 1990s drama film–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |