Finis Terrae

Year1929 Duration82 min. DirectorJean Epstein

On a deserted islet off the Brittany coast, four seaweed fishermen work in complete isolation from the rest of the world during the summer. Ambroise falls ill and is quarantined. But when Jean-Marie sees how ill Ambroise really is, he decides to take him back to Ouessant. On the high sea, they meet a doctor who has come to help them. Epstein is known for his capacity to portray impressionist landscapes reflecting the state of his characters. In this silent film he manages to sketch sensitively the coastal landscape of Bretagne and the life of the sea fishermen. In his time Epstein was an important theorist of cinema and he put his ideas into practice in his films. Finis Terrae dates from his avant-garde period and is an early example of a film that tries to link narrative and documentary. The film was a major influence on the development of a more lyrical documentary style for a long time. “I set out to film the men of the four elements, the seaweed burners; those who dip their arms into the sea and fire, those who sail in the breezes and lie down to sleep on the earth. If there is alchemy, the souls of such men cannot dissappoint.” Jean Epstein

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Promoted by
Gobierno de Navarra
Organized by
NICDO
With the aid of
Con la financiación del Gobierno de España. Instituto de la Cinematografía y las Artes Audiovisuales Acción Cultural Española Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia Financiado por la Unión Europea. NexGenerationEU
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