Across the Lake (1997) User Reviews

A destiny of their own...

[smicko · 8/10 · 9 November 1999]

The fact that this film is based on a true story [in fact based on a documentary shot by the same director], gives a unique rafinement to this feature destinguishing it from the use-and-waste 'true' stories seen everyday in mass production of the rich overseas productions. Wonderful camera work, reinforced with the magic pan-pipes of Zamfir [really feeling the Balkan mentality and irregular rythms, indeed!]are recommendation for itself. However, the dialog is not the strongest part of the movie [as in the most Macedonian features], but one can still enjoy the personal human drama, knowing that at the end, at least one little thing was restored - the freedom.

True story about love, separated by the lake...

[rojerfedercon · 10/10 · 11 September 2018]

The film ACROSS THE LAKE Is a true story about two people who fall in love with each other and want to be together. He is in Macedonia and she is in Albania. The only thing that separates them is the lake.Albania isolates itself from the rest of the world. Konstantin illegally crosses the lake only to collect Elena and take her back. But, treated as a spy, he spends years in Albanian camps. Nobody could believe that a person would go to Albania only because of love. He finds himself in a maze made of human isolation, closed in a foreign country. With the death of EnverHodza Albania the borders open again. After forty years of torture, Konstantin, together with Elena and his daughter, returns to his place of birth. A haunting melange of love and paranoia that begins in Stalin-ist Albania in 1950, "Across the Lake " is a moving tribute to the individual spirit. 1997 "Across the Lake" The world premiere of this film has been realized during the film festival in Montreal. 1997 "Across the Lake" participated in the category "Reflection of Our Time." 1997 "Across the Lake" screened at the Toronto Film Festival. 1997 "Across the Lake" received special prize for the human theme at the Saraevo Film Festival. 1997 "Across the Lake" won prize from the audience for the best photography at the Camera Film Festival, "Manaki Brothers" in Bitola, Macedonia. 1997 "Across the Lake" has participated in the official competition at film festivals in Cottbus, Germany; Cairo, Egypt; and others.