X
In the white city by Alain Tanner,  CH 1983 , 107 min.
French/German with German subtitles.
  • Director: Alain Tanner
  • Screenplay: Alain Tanner
  • Cinematography: Acacio de Almeida
  • Editing: Laurent Uhler
  • Cast: Francisco Baião, José Carvalho, Bruno Ganz, Teresa Madruga, Julia Vonderlinn
  • Producer: Paolo Branco
  • Production: Filmograph SA, Metro Films Lisbon
  • Distributor: CAB Productions
  • Contact: Gérard Ruey,
  • Festivals: Zürich Film Festival, Cinequest San Jose, Solothurner Filmtage

In the white city

Vacation? No, there's things to do during vacation. Naval engineer Paul (Bruno Ganz) goes off-board, moves into a room in Lisbon and takes time off. Okay, he sends some Super-8-tapes to his girlfriend. He gets intimate with chamber maid Rosa (Teresa Madruga). And he drifts aimlessly through the city. But all of a sudden something happens, which hurts a lot.

Shot in 1983, this film by French-Swiss director Alain Tanner was an arthouse hit in its time. Looking back on it now, we still see three layers of filmic seduction: an ode to Lisbon, to love and to the joy of being alone.

Film journalist Jan Schulz-Ojala will give an introduction to the film and to Tanner's general filmography.​

Alain Tanner
Having said his spirited farewell to filmmaking 14 years ago with PAUL S’EN VA, his name still resonates among French-speaking Swiss directors: Alain Tanner. Born in 1929, he spent his early years in the merchant navy, before working for the Swiss television. He gained international fame with the feature LA SALAMANDRE - the wonderfully chaotic triangle of self-assured jobber Rosemonde, journalist Pierre and writer Paul. In 1976 he directed JONAH WHO WILL BE 25 IN THE YEAR 2000: between conformation and anarchy, eight people explore the suitability of the concepts of life that the 1968-generation have passed on to them. The tone of Tanner's films changed around this time; movies that sprang from one idea and relied on often grotesque humour gave way to poetic, melancholic and more intimate works. With a certain increasingly radical progression, his characters started to oscillate between wanting to belong and a quest of freedom.​