ALL THE CITIES OF THE NORTH
A film by Dane Komljen
2016, 100 minutes
2016, 100 minutes
No. 158
Narrative
Narrative
Description
The first feature film by Serbian filmmaker Dane Komljen, All the Cities of the North is a cryptic, largely dialogue-free work that both approaches and resists narrative. Taking place on the grounds of an abandoned hotel complex on the edge of Montenegro, it charts the languorous, mysterious existences of two men – Boban and Boris – who occupy almost identical bungalows on the complex and who seem to share an understanding beyond the verbal. The outlines of a story begin to emerge when a third man (Komljen himself) enters their secluded space and disturbs their patterns.
This film, however, remains a work that is far more attuned to a sense of place, gesture, and nonverbal communication than to dramatic incident. Balancing its pregnant silences with a poetic narration that muses (among other things) on the utopian urban planning of ex-Yugoslavia, All the Cities of the North is a radically open-ended but ravishingly beautiful work that’s animated by rhythms and ideas entirely its own.
Festivals
Official Selection, New York Film Festival
Official Selection, Locarno Film FestivalReviews
"There are several ways to measure the greatness of Dane Komljen’s first feature work, All the Cities of the North, and one of them is simply asking people who’ve just seen it if they can compare it to anything else..." - Cinema Scope
"The cinematography here is absolutely astounding." - Brooklyn Magazine
