Landscape in the Mist is the third in a Trilogy of Silence that began with Voyage to Cythera and continued with The Bee-Keeper. In all three films the qualities that distinguished the first trilogy -Days of '36, The Travelling Players, and The Hunters- are absent. The music in the first trilogy is precise and precisely used at key moments of the film; whereas in the second trilogy the music is repetitive and not traditionally Greek but some sort of middle European slop which heard again and again becomes an irritating nuisance and a diversion from the film. The music in Megalexandros is even more important and deftly used. Second, the cinematography in the first trilogy and Megalexandros is pristine and superb in its use of Northern Greek landscape, whereas in the second trilogy, with the exception of the closing scenes of Voyage to Cythera and Landscape in the Mist, the landscape rarely works as a commentary other than, perhaps the empty roads in Landscape in the Mist. Third, the introduction of Tonino Guerra as writer complicates the vision Angelopoulos had before, giving his films an existential despair familiar from Antonionio's films on which Guerra wrote, and which are part of the problem. The unreality of two children who rarely eat or drink or wash may not matter as they represent a transition from innocence to maturity, but the adults around them are by turns indifferent (the uncle), brutal (the truck driver), loving (Orestes) but seem not to contribute anything to the children's lives, other than the obvious problem of the truck scene. Perhaps in this film the father's silence is equivalent to God's silence, yet the solitary tree at the end suggests the eternal spring of life, and that the children have found their peace. What a pity this ravishing scene is so polluted by that whining oboe and that relentless repetition of such third rate muzak.I have the Artificial Eye Boxed sets, and all the films seem to be missing up to 5-15 minutes, are there no definitive versions of Angelopoulos' films?

Landscape in the Mist is the tale of two Greek siblings (a girl and a boy) who one day decide to travel to Germany to search for his unknown father. Fifteen minutes into the film we learn that the father in question, doesn't real exist. In fact, we also learn from the children' uncle (her mother's brother) that it all has been a lie as the children are the result of different love affairs. In most conventional movies, this early discovery would ruin the plot, hence the rest of film, but here it becomes the turning point into the children' odyssey since it fuels up their desire to meet his father. From that towards, the film shows us thew siblings mixed up in the raw atmosphere of the adult world, surrounded by bleach landscapes and a misty never-ending who serves at the only witness for the children descend into adulthood. There, in the battlefield of an unknown world, our main characters encounter many challenges, but they all together manage the constant menace of a number of difficult situations, thanks in a part by a good natured youngster named Oreste. However, he is not always present for the children (due to their constant moving) and at the end, one has the feeling that after all, they are alone to face their fate; which in my opinion reflects the paradox of a new born child.Landscape in the Mist is a piece of art, a masterpiece so well crafted that makes think about it even if you haven't watch it in years. It so powerful and yet so sad, like a misty sky in a rainy day. HIGHLY RECOMMENDABLE. IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE

The consistent gloomy weather throughout the film makes one wonder whether the director suffers from severe depression. Still, Angelopoulos's films are always interesting for all kinds of reasons and this one is no exception, although its obsessive commitment to heavy-handed symbolism and pretentious ambiguity does make it an often unbearable and tedious viewing. Its pessimistic -almost dismissive- view of maturity by the eyes of the two young protagonists is flatly conceived rendering the film rather tasteless, and the script itself looks written on foot. Nevertheless, it does have its intriguing moments and Angelopoulos's skepticism is always worth watching, but the fact that the exciting director who gave us "The Travelling Players" and "The Days Of '36" in the '70s is replaced here by a self-absorbed auteur is quite a let down in itself.

Edit: could whoever two people are responsible: what exactly did you find unhelpful about my review? Thanks.When I first saw this film it was a random pick out of the library that looked interesting. I had not ever heard of it or read a single review. When I saw it I was convinced that it was one of the best and most beautiful films I had ever seen. Later, when I checked too see other reviews, they were all nasty and gave the film a very painful treatment. Worried, I went to see it again - had I overpraised it? Had I missed some flaws? No, I was right, and I'm sure the people who disagreed were wrong now. The film is still one of the best films ever made. It has been said to be a blend of Fellini and Traffaut - that is a fairly good description on the grounds that it is about kids (Traffaut) and has some fairly Fellini-esquire moments (noticeably, one scene where the children escape a police station because everyone in the station and on the street are frozen in time watching the snow fall). But it wouldn't be fair to neglect Theo Angeloupos (probably spelling error, sorry) own incredible style, one that still seems fresh after many years because of the films obscurity it has been scarcely imitated. The gorgeous photography (by Yorgos Arvanitis) strays almost completely from close ups - in fact, there may not be a single close up in the entire film.The story centers on two children who run away from their single mother in search of a father her mother says lives in Germany. In reality, we hear her mother say in the beginning of the film, he does not exist. The older adolescent girl overhears this but refuses to believe it, and she takes her much smaller brother on a road trip to the north Greek border. Over one winter they wander through snowy landscapes starkly contrasted against the industrial cities and highways. They almost starve several times, they are occasionally pursued by police, at one point it is implied that the adolescent girl, Voula, is raped. At many times during their journey they encounter a friendly traveling theater actor who gives them rides. The whole film the children are searching for their father, the "Landscape in the Mist" - it can only exist if you imagine it. Sadly, Alexander and Voula do not accept the actor as a father figure, because their determined journey says their father is in Germany, not Greece. If only they had!...unfortunately, it would not have made a difference - the actor has been drafted into the Greek army.Towards the end of the film they watch with amazement as a helicopter pulls a giant statue of a god-like hand out of large river and flies it towards the faraway city - I wouldn't be given this scene so shamelessly away if it weren't for the fact they show it in the poster anyway...the spoiler warning is also up. But it's really there for:SPOILERS HERE At the end of the film the Alexander (the boy) and Voula attempt to cross the Greek border by rowing a boat across the river. They are spotted from a watchtower and fired upon. The next morning, it seems they have crossed the river and are wandering through a hilly place where it is so misty they can hardly see ten yards ahead of them. A lone, leafless tree becomes visible and they wander towards it. The camera does not follow them. Fade to black. Have they successfully crossed the border? Have they been shot and died, and reached some kind of afterlife? It's not clear, but we celebrate their victory that they have finally discovered the impossible: a landscape in the mist.THE SPOILERS ARE OVER...BUT SO IS THE REVIEW!