and her being more obscured by the mist is meant to be Angelopoulos' way of presenting the fact that she is closer to death than the boy.
Maybe, but if you interpret the film as a coming of age allegory, about life and experience, then the boy stepping forward could represent his increased confidence gained along the way, whereas the girl, due to her different(i.e negative) experiences, recedes into the background. The boy has assumed the dominant role.
I think this film can be read on a few levels. It's also saying something about the youth of Greece, or the youth in the modern world, perhaps. That they are rootless, and kind of floating adrift. The search for the father is the search for identity and a sense of 'belonging'. To extend the allegory here for a second, lack of father=lack of security, lack of family, lack of belonging. The traditional ways have broken down. The kids now face a world that is largely different from the previous generations. They connect with the people that meet, but it's only temporary, ephemeral. The opening scene is like a metaphor for the entire film really. The kids reach out to the train, grab hold for a second, disconnect, and are eventually left alone, in silence. It sets the pattern for the entire development of the narrative really.
Even Orestes breaks away from the troupe and becomes 'lost' in the modern world of 'decadence' and 'dislocation', for lack of a better word.
re:borders. Theo has said the border between Germany and Greece is a metaphysical one, not literal. Why is Germany the landscape in the mist? To understand this, one must at least have some understanding of modern Greek history, and it's awkward relationship with the rest of the west that continues to this very day.
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