In the White City
(Dans La Ville Blanche)
Screening on Film
Directed by Alain Tanner.
With Bruno Ganz, Teresa Madruga, Francisco Baiao.
Switzerland/Portugal/UK, 1983, 35mm, color, 108 min.
French with English subtitles.
With Bruno Ganz, Teresa Madruga, Francisco Baiao.
Switzerland/Portugal/UK, 1983, 35mm, color, 108 min.
French with English subtitles.
Alain Tanner's In The White City is a haunting work that follows a disconnected sailor who decides to jump ship in Lisbon. Ganz plays the Swiss sailor, who suddenly finds himself absorbed by the ghostly "white city" on the edge of the Atlantic. He wanders the city's streets and alleys, shooting Super-8 films that he sends to his wife back in Switzerland as explanations of the daily occurrences of his life. A marvelous jazz score by Jean-Luc Barbier provides the perfect complement to Tanner's freewheeling visual style.
