What Is Ulysses’ Gaze About?
The premise of Ulysses’ Gaze in 281 words, with nothing given away. The full story follows below.
The film opens as an exiled Greek filmmaker, A, comes back to his native soil to attend a screening of one of his early works. The event, charged with the lingering echoes of artistic triumphs and political tensions, sparks a quiet reckoning within him. It is not merely a homecoming but the catalyst for a personal pilgrimage across the fractured landscapes of the Balkans, driven by a yearning to locate three mysterious, undeveloped reels shot by the pioneering Manaki brothers.
What follows is a poetic traversal of a region where history lies in ruins and beauty lingers in the mist. From the rugged coastlines of Albania to the river valleys of North Macedonia, the crumbling streets of Bulgaria, the stark plains of Romania, and the storied towns of Serbia, each locale feels like a frame in an unfinished film. The journey is rendered in a contemplative, almost documentary rhythm, blending A’s own memories with the collective recollections of a people whose identities have been reshaped by conflict and cultural flux. The atmosphere is at once melancholy and luminous, with the texture of decaying architecture and the persistent hum of ordinary life underscoring the search for cinema’s forgotten origins.
At the heart of this odyssey is A’s quiet determination and his uncanny ability to drift between strangers, absorbing fleeting conversations that whisper of lost stories and hidden truths. His encounters feel more like reverent observations than conventional interactions, each one adding a new layer to his internal narrative. The film’s tone is meditative, inviting viewers to contemplate how memory, art, and place intertwine, while leaving the ultimate destination—and what may lie there—shrouded in the same enigmatic fog that frames the journey itself.
What Happens in Ulysses’ Gaze?
The complete story of Ulysses’ Gaze, from the first scene to the last, in 322 words (about 1 minute). Spoilers throughout. Names in the text link to 2 cast member pages.
Spoilers ahead
Successful Greek filmmaker A (Harvey Keitel) returns to Greece to attend a screening of one of his earlier works and to embark on a personal journey across the Balkans. When the screening is disrupted by a clash of local ideologies, A leaves Greece by taxi for Albania, driven by a quest for three undeveloped reels credited to the Manaki brothers—reels that might even predate the brothers’ landmark film, The Weavers, long regarded as the first film shot in the Balkans.
A’s journey becomes a delicate fusion of memory, cinematic history, and the evolving face of the Balkans. The journey threads together his own recollections with the legacy of the Manaki brothers and contemporary images from the region. He drifts across Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Serbia, moving by train, a barge carrying a Lenin statue named Polyphemus, and finally a small rowboat. Along the way he makes a few acquaintances, but he rarely lingers, pulled onward by a search for the roots of cinema, memory, and Balkan identity, a pursuit that steadily edges toward decay and mortality.
His voyage ultimately leads to the besieged city of Sarajevo, where he encounters Ivo Levy (Erland Josephson), the curator of an underground cinema archive who had already attempted to salvage the missing reels before the war. A persuades Levy to persevere with the project, urging him to keep the reels and the stories they carry alive.
The film culminates on a rare foggy day in Sarajevo. The mist offers a quiet space in which locals can move and function away from the danger of snipers, giving the city a fragile, unexpected chance to flourish. A explores the city alongside Levy’s family, and near the river they encounter military personnel, with tragic consequences as the family is executed. Through its quiet, persistent gaze, the movie traces how memory, cinema, and place intertwine even amid conflict, leaving a haunting meditation on the stakes of preserving history.
Ulysses’ Gaze Timeline: Every Key Event in Order
12 key events in the order they happen, from “Return to Greece and disrupted screening” to “Final meditation: memory, cinema, and decay”. 12 events name a place, across 8 locations.
- 1
Return to Greece and disrupted screening
Successful Greek filmmaker A returns to Greece to participate in a screening of an earlier film. The screening is disrupted by local ideological conflict, setting in motion his personal journey across the Balkans.
Where:Greece
- 2
Departure to Albania by taxi
After the disruption, A hails a taxi and heads from Greece toward Albania, leaving the screening behind. The journey marks the literal beginning of his cross-Balkan pilgrimage in search of cinema's origins.
Where:Greece
- 3
The quest for three undeveloped reels
In Albania, A is ostensibly searching for three undeveloped reels attributed to the Manaki brothers. The reels are rumored to predate even their first Balkan film, making them a symbol of cinema's earliest roots.
Where:Albania
- 4
Cross-Balkan drift begins: by train
A begins to drift through the Balkans from Albania toward North Macedonia by train, blending memory, history, and present-day landscapes. The journey folds together ancient film history with contemporary imagery.
Where:Albania to North Macedonia (train)
- 5
Traveling the waterways with a Lenin statue
Along the route, A travels by barge carrying a statue of Lenin, an image that layers political history with the voyage. The statue, known as Polyphemus, becomes a moving symbol of the eras the journey traverses.
Where:Balkan waterways
- 6
The rowboat leg of the journey
Later, A continues onward by rowboat, symbolizing a more intimate, uncertain passage through the region's memory. The voyage remains a traveling meditation rather than a simple destination.
Where:Balkan waters
- 7
Arrival in besieged Sarajevo
A reaches Sarajevo, a city under siege, where the war's shadows frame his ongoing search for forgotten reels. The setting contrasts cinematic memory with real-world conflict.
Where:Sarajevo
- 8
Meeting Ivo Levy, underground cinema archive curator
In Sarajevo, A encounters Ivo Levy, the curator of an underground cinema archive who had already attempted to reconstruct the missing reels before the war. Levy represents the archival impulse to salvage cinema's past.
Where:Sarajevo
- 9
A convinces Levy to continue the work
A persuades Levy to keep working on the reels, bridging the living memory with the archival project. Their collaboration marks a pact to preserve cinema despite the surrounding chaos.
Where:Sarajevo
- 10
Foggy day offers brief reprieve
On a rare foggy day in Sarajevo, the city seems to calm, and the fog allows locals to move and the city to briefly flourish. A continues his exploration of the city with Levy's family, finding resonance between memory and place.
Where:Sarajevo
- 11
Encounter with riverfront life and danger
Near the river, the family encounters military personnel, and tragedy strikes as they are executed. The moment underscores the fragility of life amid conflict.
Where:Sarajevo, along the river
- 12
Final meditation: memory, cinema, and decay
A's quest for the roots of cinema, memory, and Balkan identity remains unresolved as the journey ends in violence. The narrative ties cinema history to the present decay and death that shadow the Balkans.
Where:Balkans/Sarajevo
Who Are the Main Characters in Ulysses’ Gaze?
2 characters, among them A (Harvey Keitel) and Ivo Levy (Erland Josephson): who each one is and the part they play in the story. Every profile links to the actor’s page.
-
A (Harvey Keitel)
Played by Harvey Keitel
A successful Greek filmmaker returning to Greece to attend a screening and begin a cross-Balkan quest for undeveloped reels. His journey blends personal memory with the history of Balkan cinema, turning memory into a compass for his search. He moves through borders and cities with a weary, reflective distance, never stopping long enough to anchor himself. The quest becomes as much about understanding a region as about understanding his own art.
- 🎬 Cinema
- 🧭 Identity
- 🧠 Memory
-
Ivo Levy (Erland Josephson)
Played by Erland Josephson
A curator of an underground cinema archive in besieged Sarajevo who had attempted to develop the missing reels. He becomes a key ally for A, guiding and sharing the heritage of Balkan film while bearing the weight of wartime loss. His connection to memory and institutions grounds the film’s meditation on cultural preservation. Through his family and archive work, he embodies the tension between art and survival in a war-torn city.
- 🎬 Cinema
- 🏛️ Archive
- 🧭 Journey
Where and When Is Ulysses’ Gaze Set?
Ulysses’ Gaze is set in Greece, Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Sarajevo (Bosnia… (1990s). Here is why the time and place matter to the story.
When
1990s
Set during the Bosnian War era, the film threads a memory-driven journey across the Balkans in the early to mid-1990s. It blends past cinema history with contemporary war-torn landscapes to explore how borders and identities shift in times of conflict. The timeline anchors a search for forgotten reels while the region undergoes rapid political and social turmoil.
Where
Greece, Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
The journey unfolds across Greece and through the Balkans, touching Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia, with Sarajevo as a pivotal setting. The landscapes range from border towns and rail routes to rivers and urban archives, reflecting a region steeped in layered histories. The climactic scenes take place in besieged Sarajevo, anchoring the film’s meditation on memory, culture, and decay amid conflict.
- 🗺️ Balkans
- 🎬 Cinema history
- 🧭 Cross-border journeys
What Are the Themes of Ulysses’ Gaze?
3 ideas the story keeps returning to, among them Memory & Cinema, Journey & Identity and War & Decay.
-
01
Memory & Cinema
Ulysses’ gaze intertwines the protagonist’s memories with early Balkan cinema history, using film as a tool to interpret the region’s fractured identity. The quest to uncover undeveloped reels becomes a meditation on how memory preserves culture across generations. The narrative treats cinema as both a personal souvenir and a collective archive that outlives political upheaval.
-
02
Journey & Identity
The cross-border travels reveal shifting Balkan identities, highlighting how place and history shape who we are. The protagonist’s wandering path through Greece, Albania, and beyond acts as a search for roots in a rapidly changing world. The voyage emphasizes memory over destination, suggesting identity is built as much by what is carried as by what is left behind.
-
03
War & Decay
Sarajevo’s siege frames the film’s confrontation with violence and mortality, where art confronts the fragility of life in wartime. The fog and gunfire become counterpoints to cinematic memory, illustrating how conflict can both erase and preserve culture. The ending reflects the coexistence of decay and resilience, as communities strive to maintain meaning amid destruction.
What Kind of Film Is Ulysses’ Gaze?
Melancholic in tone, with slow pacing and a complex story, going by the plot summary.
- Tone
- Melancholic
- Pacing
- Slow
- Story
- Complex
- Intensity
- High
- Ending
- Sad
A slow-paced, melancholic pilgrimage through a war-torn landscape, where a man's search for cinematic origins becomes a dreamlike and emotionally heavy meditation on memory, decay, and death.
- melancholic
- journey
- oppressive
- nostalgic
- dreamlike
- dissociative
- political conflict
- search for meaning
- memory and identity
- decay of civilization
Content notes: war violence, execution, murder, siege warfare.
Quiz
How well do you remember Ulysses’ Gaze? Test yourself on the story.
