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In memoriam Thodoros Angelopoulos: Melancholisch filmdichter uit de Balkan

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Abstract

The career of the Greek filmmaker, screenwriter and producer Thodoros Angelopoulos lasted for more than 40 years, during which he composed a exceptional oeuvre of fifteen movies. Well-known examples are his debut Reconstruction (1970), The Travelling Players (1974), Alexander the Great, which won theGolden Lion at the film festival in Venice in 1980, and of course Eternity and a Day, the winner of the Palm d’Or in Cannes in 1998. The work of Angelopoulos is characterized by a unique style that could be described as an idiosyncratic mixture of slow and episodic narrative structures, long takes and a melancholic atmosphere. The mythical stories that Angelopoulos tells are mostly based upon (Greek) history. Although his individual films perfectly stand on their own, they also seem to constitute chapters of larger whole. In this respect, Angelopoulos’ preference for long takes was a political and ethical issue rather than a purely esthetical one. As an eye-witness of some of the most dramatic episodes of recent Greek history, he attempted to narrate not only his personal story, but the story of his generation and his country.

How to Cite:

Sartor, F. & Michiels, D., (2013) “In memoriam Thodoros Angelopoulos: Melancholisch filmdichter uit de Balkan”, Tetradio 22(1): 6, 127–136. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/tetradio.91829