|
Date |
Film |
|
Tuesday 2
October |
Narradores de Javé / The
Storytellers (Eliane Caffé, 2004, 102´)
José Dumont, Nelson Dantas, Rui Resende, Matheus Nachtergaele
It is perhaps the very unpretentious narrative technique of Narradores
de Javé that makes it a winner. But that simplicity, straightforwardness
even, is only so in appearance. It camouflages layers that are as much
cinematic as emotional. Never confusing, always cheerful, director
Eliane Caffé’s art of story-telling is here at its most vigorous. But
she also jostles our mind about the ways we look at ourselves and at our
past.
What is doomed to happen in the village of Javé in Brazil, and what
eventually does happen, is what ‘progress’ is all about. A dam is to be
built and Javé is to be submerged. What can the people do? Their sole
weapon against this awesome official decision is to demonstrate that
their valley has enough historical and cultural significance to warrant
preservation. But as a matter of fact the valley has no ‘tangible’
riches to show the world. And the people know it. Paradoxically, it is
this lacuna which gives the film its brilliance. The inhabitants must
turn to their own resources of imagination. And so they recount stories
of the origins of Javé, each as he or she sees it, full of punch and
drama. So rich is this oral creativity, so immersed are they in their
own tales, in their active myth-making, that they identify with the
historical personages they speak about and, in one stroke, erase the
distinctions between ‘truth’ and ‘fiction’, wipe away linear notions of
time, add frills and fancies, and convince you that past wealth resides
not only in stone and clay but in individual and collective imagination;
that imagination is also what links people to their soil, and is as
culturally significant as any item of archaeology. (Latika Padgaonkar,
Fipresci)
Portuguese dialogue, English subtitles
|
|
Thursday 4
October |
Nina (Heitor
Dhalia, 2004, 85´)
Guta Stresser, Myrian Muniz, Juliana Galdino, Wagner Moura
Set in the hip underground world of Sao Paulo, Nina follows a young girl
as she struggles to make ends meet, under the pressure of her roommate
and landlord, a sinister old lady who locked the fridge before
ultimately threatening to kick her out in the streets without any
remorse.
Nina (Guta Stresser) is a lost and lonely soul, a Goth girl with a
talent for drawing comics who lives in her own world, disconnected from
reality and slightly disturbed. Rebellious, she quits her job as a
waitress, but quickly finds out she can hardly survive as her landlady
seems determined to crush her without mercy. She has enough self-esteem
not to become a prostitute like her best friend but ends up selling her
underwear to some creepy street vendor. She doesn't have any soul mate,
is somewhat bisexual and can't really connect with anybody, including
the girl who has a crush on her. Pushed to the limits by her landlady,
she ends up succumbing to her dark inner urges, under the grip of her
comic-book self-incarnation.
Nina is visually hypnotic, intertwining an eerie cinematography with
some animated sequences inspired by her comics. David Lynch's influence
is omnipresent, from Twin Peaks to Mulholland Drive, through emblematic
Lynchian ingredients – long corridors, midgets, strange characters, dead
bodies and a taste for surreal settings. (Fred Thom, plume-noire.com)
Portuguese dialogue, English subtitles
|
|
Tuesday 9
October |
Vinicius
(Miguel
Faria Jr., 2005, 110´)
Firmly rooted in the tradition of music bios, but with such a unique
subject it transcends the genre, veteran Miguel Faria Jr.'s salute to
the great Brazilian composer Vinicius de Moraes (1913-1980) is something
more than a listing of triumphs pre- and post- "The Girl from Ipanema."
The pantheon of Brazilian music, from Caetano Veloso to Chico Buarque
and Gilberto Gil, parade through a carnival of sassy, innovative tunes
that have become evergreens, recounting stories about Vinicius as
musician, poet, diplomat and lover of nine wives. This rich-looking
production, which seems made for ancillary, should sing a lucrative
song.
Spending, drinking and marrying wife after wife, Vinicius wrote plays,
poems and the music and lyrics to 400 ground-breaking songs, all the
while carrying on a diplomatic career until kicked out by the
dictatorship in 1969. Working alongside Antonio Carlos Jobim and Joao
Gilberto, he created the Bossa Nova; later he paired with Toquinho, Tom
Jobim and other lights. Personal commentary is heard from his daughter
and film's producer, Susana de Moraes. Actors Camila Morgado and Ricardo
Blat provide a pretty frame, reciting Vinicius' poetry. (Deborah Young,
Variety)
Portuguese dialogue, English subtitles
|
|
Thursday 11
October |
O Passageiro: Segredos de Adulto
/ The Passenger: Adult Secrets
(Flavio R. Tambellini, 2006, 105´)
Bernardo Marinho, Giulia Gam, Carolina Ferraz, Antonio Calloni
Antonio (Bernardo Marinho) is the son of the wealthy banker Mauro
(Antonio Calloni), but has little interest in following in his dad's
footsteps. Antonio is a college man studying filmmaking, and doesn't
have much interest in Mauro's staid life in finance, while Mauro is wary
of his son's seeming lack of interest in women, though he's mistaken
Antonio's shyness for apathy. Antonio discovers some paperwork which
suggests his father may be guilty of legal improprieties relating to his
business, but before he can confront Mauro, the banker is found dead
along a busy highway, and the police suspect foul play.
Antonio's mother Angela (Giulia Gam) is distraught at the news, and as
he tries to comfort her, Antonio is forced to take over the family's
affairs. As Antonio goes through their accounts, he suspects his
father's business misdeeds may be connected to his death. While Antonio
struggles to determine the truth behind his father's death, he
encounters Carmen (Carolina Ferraz), a beautiful woman who knew Mauro
and may have shared a ride with him on his fateful night. Through
Carmen, Antonio learns about his father's reckless early life and his
way with the ladies, which inspires Antonio to gather his courage and
try to make time with two of his more attractive classmates, Cristina (Luiza
Mariani) and Adriana (Luana Carvalho). O Passageiro: Segredos de Adulto
received its North American premiere at the 2007 Palm Springs
International Film Festival. (Mark Deming, All Movie Guide)
Portuguese dialogue, English subtitles
|
|
Thursday 18
October |
O Ceu de Suely
/ Suely in the Sky / Love for Sale
(Karim Ainouz,
2006, 90´)
Hermila Guedes, Maria Menezes, Zezita Matos, Georgina Castro
Karim Aïnouz blew away viewers with his first feature, Madame Sãta, a
stylized tale of the infamous sexual outlaw. His sophomore effort, Love
for Sale: Suely in the Sky, similarly explores Brazil’s fringe dwellers
and the ways in which self-expression – physical, sexual, emotional –
reveals and masks inner identities and truths.
After living in São Paulo for two years, Hermila returns to the vast and
expansive rural landscape of her youth, waiting for her young boyfriend,
the father of her newborn son, to follow. Time passes slowly and
eagerness fades to sorrow as Hermila realizes that he has no intention
of joining her, but she has a feisty, restless spirit and refuses to be
crushed. Seizing life on her own terms, Hermila sets up a raffle, first
of some whiskey and soon of her own body, taking on the seductive
titular name and promising a night of paradise to the winner.
Without any of the moral pandering often found in movies about
prostitution, Aïnouz depicts Hermila as a proud and uninhibited
non-conformist who willingly explores the breadth and limitations of her
own sexuality. In doing so, she blossoms from a dependent girl into a
strong and liberated young woman. Beautifully shot, and imbued with
nostalgia for real romance, Aïnouz’s stirring film intimately involves
viewers in Hermila’s story. Hermila Guedes is sensational in a difficult
role that calls for plenty of physical and emotional nakedness. Whether
hanging out at a karaoke bar with her friend Georgina, enjoying a quick
fling with biker João or trying to calm her crying baby, Hermila (both
the actress and the character) is a down-to-earth wonder who lights up
the sky. (Robert O’Shaughnessy)
Portuguese dialogue, English subtitles
|
|
Thursday 25
October |
O Maior Amor
do Mundo / The Greatest Love of All
(Carlos Diegues,
2006, 107´)
Jose Wilker , Sergio Britto , Lea Garcia , Tais Araujo
Born in a favela from an unknown mother, Antonio, an astrophysicist
working in the United States, returns to Brazil with the aim of finding
his true roots. Suffering from an incurable disease, he discovers the
violent reality of Brazil but also the love in the arms of a girl of the
favelas. Violent and tragic at the same time, O Maior Amor Do Mundo
skilfully combines reflection and lightness.
"The entire Brazil fits in this film and the greatest love is the love
for life. It's the work of a mature artist in harmony with his time." (Luiz
Carlos Merten, O Estado de São Paulo)
"In a nonstop search for the comprehension of the human soul, the result
is a roller-coaster of emotions like in few Brazilian films. A road
movie, not only through the heart of the main character, but also
through the inside of a city that Diegues knows like the palm of his
hand." (Lúcio Flavio, Correio Braziliense)
Awarded Best Film at the Montreal Film Festival.
Portuguese dialogue, English subtitles
|
