Balkan Landscapes: The Gaze of Theo Angelopoulos

Theo Angelopoulos recalls the defining moment in 1964 that led to him to live his entire life in Greece, and explores the concept of borders in his work - as the limits of existence, of life and death, of language and communication. “Narrowing down the borders narrows the communication, stretches the differences, magnifies oppositions, magnifies reasons for war, magnifies the refugees, magnifies the internal exile... In reality a civil war leaves behind wounds which cannot easily be healed and they revive, like ghosts, or like recurrent nightmares, during the long nights which have dogged Greek society for years.”

Directed by Jane Gabriel, Balkan Landscapes: The Gaze of Theo Angelopoulos leans on a strong ensemble — Theo Angelopoulos, Jules Dassin, Giorgos Arvanitis — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about documentary titles of 1993.