The Hunters

FAVOURITE MOVIES

I can’t believe i’m saying this but this might just be better than Eternity and a Day, time will tell. It’s different, here it’s not easy to sympathise with the characters, you cannot, simply because you’re not supposed to, more than anything they are types, and there is no persona or character depth in any of these figures, nor it should be. They represent the chimera of revolution, and are mostly used to exaggerate situations, sometimes surprisingly even to a comedic effect.

The kick-off is simple, a group of hunters encounter the body of a partisan from a time forgotten or so it seems. Whats impenetrable is the film’s structure, and boy is it challenging. Angelopolous uses time shifts in the same long take while also transporting to a different space altogether. It is baffling, the sheer density of Angelopolous’s artistry in The Hunters. Meticulously crafted scenes using role reversal logic, songs and dance sequences all come together wonderfully in this complex and sometimes blurry maze of relatively recent Greek history.

The film spans a good portion of Greek history, from the German invasion of Greece to the return of government from exile, and further. It obviously has a very strong root in its socio-political context, but that’s not the end of it. More than anything it is a cry of pain from old wounds inflicted during the previous eras, quite literally. In Angelopolous’s world, a simple act of kindness or sympathy would take on a whole new analytical depth and never ending consequences. He truly makes epic cinema.

Masterful shot by Giorgos Arvanitis, Angelopolous’s long time cinematographer, the film boasts jaw dropping audacious sequences in unison with its marvellous set design. The camera also has a very literary feel to it, taking its time, slowly settling into the scene and not the other way around. Using dream, memory inconsistencies and fantasy, The Hunters presents a powerful array of what if’s using the corpse as a central figure guiding the narrative, and as a reference point for transitions between past and present brilliantly, oscillating between uncertain reality and nostalgia.

The Hunters is one of the most dense films i’ve seen. So far i’m 3 films (Eternity..., Landscape..., The Hunters) deep into the Greek master and i guess this is the point where i need to stop watching more Angelo... untill my political insight and knowledge is on point. I feel like being runover by a bulldozer named Angelopolous.

FAVOURITE MOVIES

I can’t believe i’m saying this but this might just be better than Eternity and a Day, time will tell. It’s different, here it’s not easy to sympathise with the characters, you cannot, simply because you’re not supposed to, more than anything they are types, and there is no persona or character depth in any of these figures, nor it should be. They represent the chimera of revolution, and are mostly used to exaggerate situations, sometimes surprisingly even to a comedic effect.

The kick-off is simple, a group of hunters encounter the body of a partisan from a time forgotten or so it seems. Whats impenetrable is the film’s structure, and boy is it challenging. Angelopolous uses time shifts in the same long take while also transporting to a different space altogether. It is baffling, the sheer density of Angelopolous’s artistry in The Hunters. Meticulously crafted scenes using role reversal logic, songs and dance sequences all come together wonderfully in this complex and sometimes blurry maze of relatively recent Greek history.

The film spans a good portion of Greek history, from the German invasion of Greece to the return of government from exile, and further. It obviously has a very strong root in its socio-political context, but that’s not the end of it. More than anything it is a cry of pain from old wounds inflicted during the previous eras, quite literally. In Angelopolous’s world, a simple act of kindness or sympathy would take on a whole new analytical depth and never ending consequences. He truly makes epic cinema.

Masterful shot by Giorgos Arvanitis, Angelopolous’s long time cinematographer, the film boasts jaw dropping audacious sequences in unison with its marvellous set design. The camera also has a very literary feel to it, taking its time, slowly settling into the scene and not the other way around. Using dream, memory inconsistencies and fantasy, The Hunters presents a powerful array of what if’s using the corpse as a central figure guiding the narrative, and as a reference point for transitions between past and present brilliantly, oscillating between uncertain reality and nostalgia.

The Hunters is one of the most dense films i’ve seen. So far i’m 3 films (Eternity..., Landscape..., The Hunters) deep into the Greek master and i guess this is the point where i need to stop watching more Angelo... untill my political insight and knowledge is on point. I feel like being runover by a bulldozer named Angelopolous.