MovieChat Forums > Figures in a Landscape (1971) Discussion > 'Nameless country'

'Nameless country'

posted 17 years ago by sonicdeathskull
12 replies | jump to latest

Right,

I am convinced that the 'Border line' that the characters reach at the end of the film is Argentina: The concrete posts that the characters pass are painted in the colors of the Argentinian flag. Now given that the two 'escapees' start the film at the coast that means the 'Nameless country' they are running through can only be Uraguay or Chile. I might be wrong but i think the Andes are in Chile so it would make sense that that's where they are escaping from.

One questions left, why are they there?

Tourists caught up in a coup? Unlikely
Mercenaries? Possibly, but then why is the MacDowell character so wet?
Military insurgents? Again, could be.

Would love to know anyones thoughts based on information from the film....

[–] fellowdroogie 17 years ago

Didn't really notice the colours of the Argentine flag, but the colour on my copy isn't always that great. It was filmed in Spain as far as I'm aware, but a synopsis I read describes the country as 'American totalitarian'. I don't think they were tourists as Shaw's wife is back home in England I presume. I'd like to read the book but where the hell can I get hold of a copy without going on e-bay?

[–] Gangsteroctopus 17 years ago

I bought a copy of the book (a paperback movie tie-in that refers to the film as a 'Smash Hit!') off of abebooks.com some years back for only a few bucks and am just now getting around to reading it - it's terrific! I haven't seen the film in nearly ten years (a 16mm panned-&-scanned TV print), so I am trying now to decide whether or not to plunk down the money for the British DVD, which I hear has some drawbacks (non-anamorphic, weak sound in some spots, etc.), not the least of which is the price (nearly thirty quid - crikey!). Has anyone here seen it? And what about the Dutch DVD?

[–] sonicdeathskull 17 years ago

unfortunately the dutch DVD is exactly the same print as the UK one....but about 1/5th of the price.

[–] Gangsteroctopus 17 years ago

I've now bought the Australian DVD for $20.00 (US) from an outfit called EzyDVD, which is widescreen (2.35:1) though, sadly, not enhanced. Still, it looked miles better than the panned-&-scanned television print I saw years ago. There are no bonuses whatsoever (not even a trailer) and the two dozen language options seem to have squeezed out any room for a decent bit rate (thus there is a fair amount of moire effect during many panning wide shots of the terrain).

I just watched the film again last night, which holds up quite well - definitely one of my favorite Losey's that I've yet seen. I was surprised at how many details I'd forgotten and how (relatively) closely Shaw's script hews to the book - with the very notable exception of the ending, which is better in the book (more true to the grim situation).

Personally, I don't think that it's important to know the country in which the story takes place, that that would, in fact, be a distraction. The story is clearly an allegory of sorts, with Shaw's character representing animal instinct and concrete action as contrasted with McDowell's rationality and reluctance towards violence. If the specific details of their plight (when, where, what are they in for, etc.) were delved into, the raw immediacy and focused physicality of it would be substantially diluted and distracted from, in my humble opinion.

Not a perfect film, by any means, but still quite compelling and one that could have probably only been made in the early '70s in Europe.

[–] krasnegar 16 years ago

Actually, having only accidentally seen the film - i literally can't recall where or when - at the time i felt as if the setting might be the Iberian Peninsula, in thw worst Franco days...

[–] Nomad-1968 16 years ago

It has been a while since I read the book (and seen the film) but the location is not given in the novel either. When I read it I thought it was set in Korea/China. I am sure it mentions soldiers in padded jackets, rice paddies and the use of helicopters. I would agree with the other replies here that the movie places the action in south America. The two main characters are POWs not criminals.

[–] parkadge 15 years ago

Yeah it's a long time since I read the book and I've never seen the film but when I read the book I imagined it as Korea or China during the Korean war. Great book.

[–] HouseT 13 years ago

I just saw this at a local venue that shows quirky films like this one. I do think that it would have diminished from the film if they had gone into too much detail. While it would have been nice for my personal curiosity to at least find out if they were being held for a legitimate reason (were they caught up in a bad situation or responsible for some actual wrongdoing?), It is probably best left to the imagination.

Oddly enough, most of the people I talked to after the film weren't sure where or when this took place. Some people even thought that it might be some sort of post-apocalyptic future. And really, I think the deliberate ambiguity (of the film, anyway) opens it up for those possibilities. Because honestly, I thought the soldiers they meet at the end look a lot like clones (but that's probably just their uniforms :P).

[–] Squeeth2 11 years ago

It just occurred to me that the plot rather follows the narrative of Robinson Crusoe (at a fair clip).

Marlon, Claudia and Dimby the cats 1989-2005, 2007 and 2010.

[–] Koosh_King01 11 years ago

Perhaps the helicopter's registration may furnish a clue? It's XZ-2B2. According to Wikipedia, the prefix "XZ" is unique to the country of Burma.

"I mean, really, how many times will you look under Jabba's manboobs?"

[–] thelastfaceyouwillsee 10 years ago

I can buy that...the novel is set in a tropical region. If the two runners were Allied/European soldiers who would be hunting them? A Communist government? A right wing military government?

"Remember, you have to make it home to get paid" (The Dogs of War)

[–] taff-rock 8 years ago

Haven't really seen this mentioned surprisingly but I thought it seemed like an allegory about war, particularly the Vietnam War in general. How in that war soldiers didn't really know why they were there or to them how the enemy must have seemed nameless, faceless. This movie was made too in 1970 during The Vietnam War. They obviously were in terrain like the jungle and the helicopter played such a huge part in the story which was so predominant in that war as well. Plus the whole border thing was in there, could be compared to the north vs south Vietnam in that war. The guy who wanted to keep fighting them died while the other who knew when to get out did which can certainly also draw parallels to the Vietnam war.