Theo Angelopoulos’s ‘Eternity and a Day‘ (1998) tells the story of Alexandros, an aging poet who knows that his life is nearing its end. He spends his last days moving through Thessaloniki, trying to make sense of what remains of his past. He walks through the rooms of his empty house, which was once filled with voices and laughter, and looks at old letters and unfinished pages that remind him of what he never completed.
His memories of his late wife return again and again, and we begin to see how deeply her absence has shaped him. His daughter, now grown and distant, represents the passing of time that he can no longer hold back. Everything changes when Alexandros meets a young Albanian refugee boy, trying to find food and shelter.
Acts of Care That Give Life Its Weight
The meeting between the poet and the boy, who was kidnapped and sold from his hometown feels accidental, yet it gives Alexandros a purpose in these final hours. As he decides to help the boy, we see two lives that are completely different yet quietly connected. The old man, who once lived surrounded by books and language, meets a child who has no home and few words to express himself. Because of this contrast, the journey they take together becomes both real and symbolic; it is about crossing borders, but also about crossing the distance between people.
As they travel through the city, which appears both familiar and foreign, the film reveals how time and memory are always intertwined. Angelopoulos shows streets that seem unchanged for decades, and faces that carry both the weariness of the past and the uncertainty of the future. The long, careful shots allow us to look and reflect, rather than rush past the details. The mist, the sea, and the quiet movement of people become part of the film’s emotional language.
After all, it is through these small and simple moments that we begin to understand Alexandros’s state of mind. The music by Eleni Karaindrou adds tender emotions to the images, reminding us that what he is experiencing is not only sorrow but also recognition and release.
Understanding Life Through Others and Ourselves
What gives the film its power is how it connects the personal story of one man with the broader story of a country and a continent in transition. The refugee boy represents the new world that is forming around Alexandros, one that he no longer fully understands. Yet, as he helps the child, we see that empathy remains possible even when words fail. Because of this, the film becomes more than a farewell. It becomes a reflection on what it means to live among others, even when time is running out.
By the end, Alexandros has not solved anything, but he has found a kind of peace. He understands that memory is not meant to be perfect or complete. It exists in fragments, in gestures, in the sound of a familiar voice, or in a brief act of kindness. As we see him standing by the sea, we feel that he is no longer fighting time but finally moving with it. Eternity and a Day reminds us that life is not measured by what we achieve, but by the moments of connection that remain when everything else has faded.
