: The film won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in 1995.
The story follows "A.," a Greek filmmaker living in exile in the United States, who returns to his homeland and embarks on a journey across the war-torn Balkans. His mission is to find three lost, undeveloped film reels from the early 20th century—the legendary first footage captured by the , the region's cinema pioneers. To vlemma tou Odyssea
The film is famous for Angelopoulos's signature , characterized by: : The film won the Grand Prix at
As A. travels through Albania, Macedonia, Romania, and finally into a besieged Sarajevo, his search for the "first gaze" of cinema becomes a metaphor for: The film is famous for Angelopoulos's signature ,
: Reclaiming a lost purity of vision before the region was fractured by modern wars and ideologies.
: It remains a profound exploration of how history and memory are captured—and often lost—through the lens of a camera.