Sometimes, watching a movie, can become a bit of a detective job. This one is very low on dialog but instead filled with symbolism. Hanging on to spot the symbols and make sense of them, is the catch of this movie in my opinion. The scenery is a part of Greece called Meteora, hence the title, which means something like "towards heaven" and it is very picturesque. More importantly it uses two monasteries each placed on top a rock pillar , formations for which this area is famous. On one side the nuns live and on the other, the munks. Between the two pillars is a smaller pillar, with a lonely tree on top. This is the setting for a lovestory between a nun and a munk.
The nun is called Urania, which means "heavenly" and the munk Theodore which means "gift of god". They already know each other at the start and their relationship develops from there. There is a reference to a bear eating figs, which symbolizes both the male power and female fertility. The tree between the two monastery pillars symbolizes the tree of life that will grow if man and woman meets in the middle. Theodore kills the lamb, which symbolizes loss of innocence, cooks it and brings it to their rendezvous under a tree. They both eat the lamb, and loose their innocence, when they kiss and touch each other.
From the tree of life again, the scene shifts to her crotch, the symbol of the female womb and the spark of life. In a labyrith Theodore has to either accept Jesus as alive in his life or nail him to the cross to get out again. He nails him to the cross, and a river of blood flows him out. They both float in the blood. This is the sign of a rebirth or a birth of new life, or both. They have sex in a cave and afterwards they walk out into the light. This is an illustration of letting the light of reality and humanity enter their life and experiencing it together having created new life. Their rooms are empty and their icons have disappeared from the alter. They have left to live together in a new world.
I found it rather difficult to become engaged in this movie. The setup is not really different from any other boy meets girl scenario. The man must be the assertive one and bring resources (the lamb). She must be reluctant while still showing interest. She must not let him go too far on the first date to show that she is not cheap. That is just like any other date in the history of mankind. Now why would they want to put it in this scenario? For the theatrical effect. The only really engaging time is when they picnic under the tree. You can really sense their restrained attraction and their loss of things to communicate about, falling into small talk routines. The artistic side feels added to the whole and not as a part of the story. It falls short of truly capturing the couples feelings and struggles.
rating: 6/10
