Fiction Written and directed by Alain Tanner
Switzerland / Portugal, 1983, 107 min. German, French, Portuguese, English with Japanese subtitles
Paul, a ships's mechanic on a cargo boat, goes ashore one day in Lisbon and makes the acquaintance of loneliness, of keeping silence, and of Rosa, a barmaid. A three-sided relationship develops between Paul, Rosa and Elisa, Paul's wife, who lives in a town on the Rhine. All of Pauls' money is stolen, he follows the tracks of the thief and gets stabbed. Nevertheless, an in spite of Rosa's departure and the distance that separates him from Elisa, Paul gradually recovers.
Director, Screenwriter, Editor1929-2022. Born in Geneva, Switzerland. Studied Economics at University of Geneva. 1951 Jointly responsible for the cinema club at Geneva University, founded by Claude Goretta. 1955 Worked at the British Film Institute. 1957 First film with Claude Goretta. Between 1960 and 1968 returned to Switzerland, directed several films and documentaries for television. 1962 Co-founder of the Swiss Filmmakers Association. 1969 First feature film. In the following years, Alain Tanner conducted seminars at universities in New York, Boston, Harvard, Chicago, Toronto, Berkeley and Los Angeles.
