Synopsis
An old communist returns to Greece after 32 years in the Soviet Union. However, things aren't the way he had hoped for.
Voyage to Cythera
1984 ‘Ταξίδι στα Κύθηρα’ Directed by Theo Angelopoulos
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Alternative Titles
Viagem a Cythera, Viaje a Cythera, Taxidi sta Kythira, El viaje a Cítera, TAXIDI STA KITHIRA
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When someone learns of a past transgression, it doesn't matter how long ago it happened. What are old scars to others are fresh wounds to them, and time reverts itself in revisiting this pain.
During the Greek Civil War, Spyros was exiled to Uzbekistan for being a communist. Over thirty years later he returns to his homeland and finds it both changed yet still the same as it ever was, a country that officially welcomes those of communist ideology yet unofficially rebuffs them at every opportunity; the central conflict revolving around a plot of land that he, despite the choices of everyone else in his family, refuses to sell to make way for a ski resort. "This is my land!"…
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Nearly unmatched impressionistic poetry. Both the foreground and the background add an infinite visual and thematic depth signaling the Greek auteur's transition from a nation's history to individual history. Foreign elements still pervade both individual and collective psychology and the emotional clashes are embellished with an astonishing lyricism. The central character embraces the incapacity to cope with change as swaying waves of disillusionment and melancholy waterboard the surrounding family member's feelings and the power of authorities over land possession, citizenship and geographical borders are criticized to an extent of alienation that is contrasted with the fates of the people in the haunting final shot. The unequalled poet strikes again.
It managed to surpass Wender's rendition of 1984.
How is silence reflected in this first trilogy entry?
"I often discover, with horror and relief, that I no longer believe in anything. At such times, I return to my body. It's the only thing that reminds me I'm alive."
94/100
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Spyros, a communist partisan fighter during the civil war, returns to Greece after 32 years of enforced exile.
Stripped off his Greek citizenship, he is in limbo. A man struggling with the question of identity, he has become a distant memory, forgotten and unwanted by friends and family. His daughter has not forgiven his abandonment. The embers of bitterness rekindle and surface. Her distrust stems from watching her mother suffer through the empty years. His son is less reactionary, neither welcoming Spyros with open arms or pushing him away. The uncertainty of how to support a long absent father is diminished when he sees how the authorities denigrate Spyros and his community spurn him.
Through the disenchantment and heartache, his… -
It profoundly addresses the question of the absence of nationality, or even the lack of a homeland in which one can completely identify. It is interesting to note how the collective imagination and the very idea of a nation are gradually being transformed from lead character Spyros perspective, generating a new idea about identity and belonging.
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Lise and Jonnie’s March Around the World 2020
Film #4 - Greece
One of my favourite things about 30 Countries is that it forces me to watch an Angelopoulos. Also, keeping the watches to March Around the World means I can look forward to seeing him again, and stretching out his limited ouvre as long as possible. I chose Voyage to Cythera based, admittedly, on length, as this is Spring Forward daylight savings time day, and we’re a bit tuckered and out of sync, but also it’s the first member of his Trilogy of Silence, and we’ve already seen the last member, Landscapes in the Mist. I was considering the similarly lengthed The Beekeeper, but, the subject matter gave me… -
The chilling atmosphere signals the end, and the beginning, of something incredibly important. While the situation itself is a bit hazy, the events that transpire are all easy to follow, and are paced and shot brilliantly. Not often does a film feel so conclusive that you feel it consistently throughout, but the shadowy indoor shots, the cloudy outdoor shots, the desperate, bitter, and/or tired characters, it signals something bigger than something really meant to be understood fully. Yes, I do not completely understand the context that creates this situation, but what matters is how the world and its characters react to it.
I insulted Bergman a few times in my review for Hour of the Wolf, and that thought came…
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How do you cope when almost everything you've known has vanished? When friends have died, homes have been torn down and beliefs have slowly dissolved in time. ' You've got to hang on to something' but what? It's a question faced by Spyros, an elderly man returning to a Greek village after decades in exile. He's someone who rejected his friends, family and idyllic lifestyle to live in the mountains and fight in a bloody civil war. Someone with ' no nationality, no ethnicity, no citizenship.' After thirty two years so much has eroded, yet no one seems to have forgotten or forgiven Spyros' betrayal, leaving indelible scars on the people he left behind, especially his heartbroken wife Katerina.
Symbolically… -
Voyage to Cythera deals with the generational displacement and enduring suffering in the long aftermath of the Greek Civil War. It starts beautifully, though cryptically, before gradually coming into focus with the return of Spyros, an old Civil War fighter, who’s been exiled in Russia for the past 32 years. His reunion with his family is heavy with grief and the irreconcilabilities of time. What’s more, Spyros cannot come to terms with what has become of his country, which has left him behind while he’s been away.
Theo Angelopoulos films with his characteristic long takes and muted, wintry colours, which work to drain the emotion from his characters’ faces. Spyros, along with his family and his old friends, seem permanently…
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In Voyage to Cythera , The first film in Angelopoulos’ trilogy of silence, Theo delivers another beautifully melancholic poem defined by very moving imagery and sound, yet again highlighting the director’s strength at using audio visual techniques to craft an artistic masterpiece like few can. Mixing history, mythology and philosophy to create a bittersweet yet ultimately moving film.
Contrary to what the title suggests, it is not much of a voyage to Cythera, the birthplace of Venus, the island of love, as it is a voyage to alienation.
Voyage to Cythera , much like The Beekeeper, is a film about the lack of acceptance for the present, the inability to grasp it, one that renders the main character as a… -
Very deliberately paced, masterfully crafted and beautifully shot. A gorgeous visual poem. Not sure if this should’ve been my introduction to Angelopoulos’ work (I had to watch this for fotw so I guess it wasn’t really my choice lol) but I am nonetheless blown away by his mesmerizing filmmaking and his beautiful visual storytelling.
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Definitely inspired by his father’s disappearance and return during the Greek Civil War, I think Theo Angelopoulos did a really interesting job at portraying the effects that it had on his generation vs his parents’. To him, it’s a distant foggy memory that he isn’t even completely sure that he remembers, and to his father it represented so much that he fought for and lost and could never get back. Angelopoulos‘ trademark foggy and otherworldly atmosphere is perfect for the themes of alienation portrayed here. I did find this a bit cold compared to the other films I’ve seen from him, but as always his godlike camerawork kept me engaged. Man was really something special.
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Voyage to Cythera merupakan sebuah karya dari Theodorus Angelopoulos, juga bagian pertama dari trilogy of silence--yang mana trilogy of silence sendiri filmnya terdiri dari Voyage to Cyhtera (1984), The Beekeeper (1986), dan Landscape in The Mist (1988).
Voyage to Cythera bercerita tentang seorang komunis bernama Spyros yang kembali ke Yunani, setelah 32 tahun berada di Soviet. Ketika ia kembali ke tanah kelahirannya, segalanya telah berubah--situasi tak seperti yang ia pikirkan.
Dengan menampilkan latar kota di negara Yunani dengan selimut salju, Voyage to Cythera tak hanya terasa dingin dari permukaan--hawa dingin merambat pada hubungan Spyros dengan keluarganya yang telah lama ia tinggalkan.
Asing--gambaran tersebut merupakan gambaran yang tepat untuk menangkap perasaan Spyros ketika kembali menginjak tanah Yunani. Spyros yang kini seorang…