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  • Haiti Express (1983)
  • 105 min | Drama
Haiti Express (1983)
105 min | Drama

Udenrigskorrespondenten was Leth's first feature but must be regarded as an experiment in fiction rather than an action film in the usual sense. Alex Hansen (Henning Jensen) is a peripatetic correspondent and at the start of the film on an...See moreUdenrigskorrespondenten was Leth's first feature but must be regarded as an experiment in fiction rather than an action film in the usual sense. Alex Hansen (Henning Jensen) is a peripatetic correspondent and at the start of the film on an assignment in civil-war-ravaged El Salvador. He cannot sleep and is suffering from writer's block, and goes to Haiti, where he bumps into and falls in love with a Danish woman (Hanne Uldal). However, she disappears, and instead of obtaining an interview with Baby Doc Alex searches for her haphazardly while he goes more and more to the dogs. At the end of the film a quotation from "Interferens", a poem by Johannes V. Jensen, expresses Alex's desperation in words, but only when he has severed connections to his justifiably impatient editor in Denmark is he able to abandon himself to Haitian sensuality and dance in the streets of Port-au-Prince by way of release. Alex's gradual dissolution is reflected by the dramaturgy of the film. Hence Udenrigskorrespondenten seems far more unfocussed that traditional film narratives and seems imbued by faith in the random principle with its loose fiction in a kind of documentary framework. A questioning, puzzled voice over narrator also struggles with the unexplained components of the film, trying to understand Alex's thoughts and emotions, which are otherwise only reflected by his restless behaviour. A hectic, documentary feel in the El Salvador section gives way to calmer visuals in Haiti. The camerawork becomes lingering and is often composed in several spatial planes (this also goes for the soundtrack) and there is extensive use of restrained, smooth camera movements. The altogether warm colours and handsome, sparsely-lit night scenes create a sultry, claustrophobic atmosphere that describes Alex's crisis. Written by Anonymous See less
Read more: Plot summary
Director
Writers
Jørgen Leth (dialogue) | Klaus Rifbjerg | Hanne Uldal (dialogue)
Producer
Composer
Cinematographer
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Status
Edit Released
Updated Sep 16, 1983

Release date
Sep 16, 1983 (Denmark)

Contacts

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Cast

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22 cast members
Name Known for
Henning Jensen
Journatlist Alex Hansen Journatlist Alex Hansen   See fewer
Aubelin Jolicoeur
Art Dealer Art Dealer   See fewer
Al Seitz
Hotel Manager Hotel Manager   See fewer
Max Beauvoir
Voodoo Priest Voodoo Priest   See fewer
Gérard Resil
Minister Minister   See fewer
Ernst Toussaint
Interpreter Interpreter   See fewer
Robert Devy
Photographer Photographer   See fewer
Jocasta Maspuda
Prostitute Prostitute   See fewer
Francine Murat
Art Dealer's Wife Art Dealer's Wife   See fewer
Jean Felix
Nightwatch Nightwatch   See fewer
Joseph Benti
Colleague / Narrator Colleague / Narrator   See fewer
Hervé Denis
Dance Partner Dance Partner   See fewer
Fritz Simple
Taxi Driver Taxi Driver   See fewer
Line Jean
Taxi Driver Taxi Driver   See fewer
Alix Toyo
Young Man Young Man   See fewer
John Newhagen
UPI-Editor UPI-Editor   See fewer
Juan Ochao
Colonel Colonel   See fewer
Deedie Baires
Interpreter Interpreter   See fewer
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