Synopsis
A grand, absurd drama: The crew of a confiscated cruise ship is forced to spend seven years in a foreign harbor. Left to their own designs by a bankrupt company and ignored by the Ukrainian authorities, sailors on the "Odessa" are forced to come to terms with their fate, in the Bay of Naples. Though of central importance, this drama hovers like a background motif above a main story, which alludes to it mysteriously, without a concrete mention: Two men explore the harbor area in Naples, pacing along desolate piazzas and half-empty buildings, crossing loading zones and nearly deserted landings, venturing into abandoned restricted areas. Their manner, resolute gestures, and sure steps provide their actions with a kind of significance, which contrasts oddly with the fate of the Odessa's crew. At first the two wanderers give rise to the expectation that their apparently diligent survey of the harbor grounds is somehow relevant to the ship's drama, though in the end it proves to be charmingly pointless. A poignantly beautiful farce about being lost in time and space. (Robert Buchschwenter)