JOURNEY TO LITHUANIA (US, 1971, Pola Chapelle)

/
 

During their trip back to Lithuania, Jonas Mekas made REMINISCENES OF A JOURNEY TO LITHUANIA, his brother Adolfas Mekas made GOING HOME in collaboration with his wife Pola Chapelle, and Chapelle herself made JOURNEY TO LITHUANIA, which both Jonas and Adolfas said was the best of these three films.

“You can't go home again – I thought the words of Thomas Wolfe, but didn't say them. The brothers were uneasy, but determined. We would make films of their return after so many years to the land of their birth. I would do sound with the little Uher, and in between, I would shoot my home movie on 8mm. One morning the five Mekas brothers stood in a line and allowed the family to measure their height. As Mama Mekas looked on, she spoke very solemnly. Adolfas translated for me. She said, 'My husband and I planted 5 birch trees. Two were straight and beautiful (Paul and Peter), one grew crooked (Costas with a limp) and two fell down.” The two that fell were Jonas and Adolfas. She lost them. All the time that we were with her, she never showed emotion. Only when she accompanied us to the airport in Vilnius, did I see tears in her eyes as Jonas and Adolfas embraced her. She loved them, and she would lose them twice.” —Pola Chapelle

JOURNEY TO LITHUANIA
(US, 1971)

Director:Pola Chapelle

  • 102 minutes
  • 8mm
  • Color
  • Sound
Distribution Format/s: DVD, DSL/Downloadable 1080p .mp4 file on server

Published By: Re:Voir Video

Institutional Price: $500

To order call: 212.280.8654 or click here for information on ordering by fax, e-mail or post.