Arquivo

Driven by a force greater than his own will, a man embarks alone on a journey. He crosses immense snow-covered plains, borders, and seas to finally arrive in a foreign country. He tells the spectator of all he sees and of those he meets. The real world sheds light on his unknown paths. In industrialized regions such as Germany and Holland, the man is borne along by the swell of traffic in the streets and avenues. Unexpectedly he arrives at the gates of a palace that seems abandoned. He walks in: it is the famous Boijmans museum in Rotterdam. In the shades of night he discovers that the prime objective of his mysterious journey is a painting by Master Peter Saenredam, “St. Mary’s Square”. To his surprise, he experiences a revelation in which he himself was present when the picture was painted in the seventeenth century. Elegy of a Voyage, selected for the 25th Mostra is the ninth film of the celebrated series Elegys, poetic and visual essays of from 20 to 90 minutes that Sokurov began in 1978.