Eternity and a day = Mia Eoniotita ke mia mira

Bruno Ganz plays Alexander, a famous author reaching the end of his life. On the eve of going into hospital he encounters a young Albanian refugee boy who is one of the thousands of illegal immigrants from Eastern Europe coming into Greece. Alexander begins a quest to return the boy home, and when that proves impossible, attempts to give the young orphan the security and opportunities unavailable on the streets. All the while his thoughts take him back into the past, where he attempts to make amends for his, at times, indifferent treatment of his wife, his child, and his mother. The voyage of the poet and the young boy culminates in a magical bus ride through Balkan history where Alexander comes to understand both the futility of one individual’s acts in affecting history, as well as finally understanding the true worth of a poet’s words. Angelopoulos’ languid and mesmerising mise-en-scene, combined with his passion for a cinema of intellectual commitment, has made him one of Europe’s premier contemporary artists of the transcendant. Features a beautiful score by Eleni Karaindrou. “Eternity and a Day” won the Palme d’Or at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.