The language of shot: Eternity and a Day
Author: SunnyYi, interested in cinema and history
Eternity and a Day, one of the Greek trilogy directed by Theo Angelopoulos, narrates the story of Alexander’s last day. According to Şerban (2019, p. 138), the combination of elaborate scenes and a mass of long-take is a unique cinematic style invented by Theo Angelopoulos. Long-take is favored by Theo Angelopoulos, which is the basis of his film language and can provide him with the free expression (Fainaru, 2001, p. 12). With long-take and other cinematography, Theo Angelopoulos poetically exhibits Alexander, suffering from cancer, shuttles between reality and memory and explores the essence of life. A long-take shot around three minutes is selected in this blog to analyze the language of shot in detail.
Firstly, for the whole shot, it starts at 13 minutes and 32 seconds, and lasts 3 minutes and 16 seconds, namely, 0:13:32-0:16:48 in the film (Angelopoulos, 1998). The narrative setting of this shot is that Alexander, knowing his days are numbered, leaves the seaside villa where he lives alone and hopes to entrust the dog to his daughter. Whereupon, Alexander comes to his daughter's house. At the same time, the long-take is applied. The first frame is the elevator and the door of the daughter's house shot by a fixed camera. When Alexander steps off the elevator and opens the door, the camera follows him moving to the left. Then the camera moves forward and follows Alexander into the house, showing the scenes of father-daughter interaction and the living room with a small panorama. With the sound of reading the letter, the camera moves down toward Alexander by a little high angle, which shifts a small panorama into a close-up of Alexander’s face. After that, the camera follows Alexander to stand; focuses on his face; and moves flat towards the curtain. Finally, the long-take ends with a close shot of both Alexander and his wife's back. This frame creates a time and space switch, as Iordanova (2000, p. 92) states, the long take is the important methods of transcending time and space. In other words, the long-take is the continuous time without interrupting and montage editing, so it is less abrupt and easier to be understood by the audience when time and space are switched. It initiates Alexander’s fond memories of a happy family, which contrasts to the melancholy and lonely atmosphere in his real life.
This shot records the relatively unfamiliar interactions between Alexander and his daughter, and daughter’s refusal of looking after the dog, which can reveal their emotional estrangement. Meanwhile, the appearance of his wife, Anna, in the final frame of the shot can obviously present his longing for the dead wife. Alexander ignored family affection and love when he was young. When he regrets and tries to recover it, his daughter has been alienated and his wife has passed away. In this shot, with a dark suit, a low voice and an indifferent expression, Alexander is constant melancholy and solitary. In addition to this, according to Zartaloudis (2010), the usage of long-take can significantly ease the pace of the film, and it is conducive to stimulating the audience to think deeply. The slow rhythm helps the audience observe the characters over a longer period of time and in more detail, thus gaining a deep sense of their emotions. It can prompt the audience to look back on their own lives and reflect on the meaning of life and time.
Furthermore, several frames of this shot are chosen for further analysis. These two frames occur separately in 0:13:48 and 0:14:00 (Angelopoulos, 1998), which form a comparison with the light and shade to present an emotional transformation. For the picture of 0:13:48, it is a frame of the camera following Alexander into his daughter's home accompanied by the lilting piano music. Alexander's careful pace and awkward look can suggest that he is estranged from his daughter. Additionally, Alexander feels guilty and regretful for not caring about his daughter, and he wants to repair the relationship. Therefore, the whole picture is dark and Alexander's back is almost black, which reflects the blue mood of the protagonist and creates the depressive atmosphere for the audience. With the laughter, the daughter opens the door of her room at 0:14:00. The sunlight shines down on Alexander through the room, making the whole picture brighter and Alexander's smiling facial expression visible. It can be explained that the daughter is the sunshine for Alexander, who can reduce the sad mood and break the oppressive atmosphere. In short, the light and shade of the picture can not only reflect the mood of the character, but also introduce different emotional feelings to the audience.
Another frame appears in 0:16:26 (Angelopoulos, 1998), which is a high angle track-in and a close shot to express Alexander’s missing for his wife. Accompanied by the voice of his daughter and his wife alternately reading the letter, the camera smoothly moves toward Alexander at a little high angle forming a close shot. In this frame, Alexander's upper body is in the center, and his face becomes the focus of the camera. The voice of his wife reaches Alexander through time and space, causing the missing of wife and the pain of regret. At the same time, Alexander's dark clothes, clenched hands, complex eyes’ expression and forlorn expression are completely revealed, reinforcing repressed emotions. In addition, the camera moves at the downward angle along the straight line generated by Alexander's line of sight, which seems to go straight through Alexander's eyes to his inner world. This advancing shot is conducive to introducing the audience into the emotional experience of the character, making the audience empathize with the sadness of the role and provoking them to reflect on.
In summary, the long-take, lasting three minutes and 16 seconds, shows the emotional estrangement between Alexander and his daughter, and his desire to regain affection and love. In Eternity and a Day, Alexander's loneliness and desolation are on full displayed by means of a lot of long-take. Angelopoulos uses the slow pace in the film to present the gloomy emotional atmosphere, which helps to trigger the audience’s emotional resonance and the reflection on the true meaning of life.
Reference List
Angelopoulos, T. (Director). (1998). Eternity and a Day [Motion Picture]. Retrieved from https://video.xjtlu.edu.cn/Mediasite/Play/2ce9dbfe4b6c44368f8d2ba1332975021d
Fainaru, D. (Ed.). (2001). Theo Angelopoulos Interviews. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi.
Iordanova, D. (2000). The Last Modernist: The Films of Theo Angelopoulos. Film Criticism, 25(1), pp.90-94.
Şerban, A. (2019). Thinking Through Translation with Theodoros Angelopoulos: Journeys, Border Crossings, Liminality. Respectus Philologicus, 36(41), 136-145. doi:10.15388/RESPECTUS.2019.36.41.29
Zartaloudis, T. (2010). Against the Laws of Time: The Cinematic Thought of Theo Angelopoulos. Cardozo Law Review, 31(4), pp.1329-1369.