House of Sand
Amazing the first word I thought of when Andrucha Waddington's House of Sand ended. This is one of the best films I have seen this year and it is breathtaking, haunting and mesmerizing.
The story is a rather simple one. Aurea (Fernanda Torres) reluctantly follows her husband Vasco (Ruy Guerra) to a remote part of Northern Brazil. Vasco bought this land and wants to develop it. They have also taken along Aurea's mother Dona Maria (Fernanda Montenegro) as well as a caravan of several men. The problems start early on when they meet Massu (Seu Jorge) and his band of runaway slaves. Vasco is given a warning that they should go back to where they came from. But Vasco is stubborn and refuses to budge even when his caravan packs up and leaves. Aurea, who is pregnant, begs Vasco to see reason but he persists in his vision. During a fierce sandstorm Vasco is buried under the rubble and dies. This leaves Aurea and her mother having to fend for themselves. They strike up a friendship with Massu who helps them survive but the both want to desperately leave this place. However, there doesn't seem to be any way out of there.
I will not say much more about the plot but I will tell you that the story encompasses three generations of women (at some point we find Aurea's daughter, who also named Maria, added to the story when she is ten years old) and that Montenegro and Torres each play more than one role. Waddington does a fantastic job directing the film and gets great performances out of the whole cast. Elena Soarez's screenplay is at the same time both simple and complex. And the cinematography by Ricardo Della Rossa is beyond magnificent.
As I mentioned before all of the acting is top notch but Montenegro and Torres are especially outstanding. I have seen Montenegro in two previous films (Central Station and The Other Side of the Street) so I already knew that she is a first rate actress. When checking on Torres I noticed that she was in Four Days in September. I remember the film but only vaguely remember her. But after seeing her in this film I certainly hope to see her in more films in the future (and perhaps I will have to watch Four Days again to see her performance). The two actresses have great chemistry together and besides their acting skills I am sure that has to do with the fact that they are in real life mother and daughter. They just play off each other so well.
This film is about survival and about making the best of any situation you might find yourself in.
But most of all (at least to me) it is about the special bond between mother and daughter. I wish I would have been able to see this film with my mother (she saw Montenegro in Central Station and really liked it) but sadly she is gone. I am sure that she would have felt the same way about the film that I did and walked out of the theater misty eyed.
The story is a rather simple one. Aurea (Fernanda Torres) reluctantly follows her husband Vasco (Ruy Guerra) to a remote part of Northern Brazil. Vasco bought this land and wants to develop it. They have also taken along Aurea's mother Dona Maria (Fernanda Montenegro) as well as a caravan of several men. The problems start early on when they meet Massu (Seu Jorge) and his band of runaway slaves. Vasco is given a warning that they should go back to where they came from. But Vasco is stubborn and refuses to budge even when his caravan packs up and leaves. Aurea, who is pregnant, begs Vasco to see reason but he persists in his vision. During a fierce sandstorm Vasco is buried under the rubble and dies. This leaves Aurea and her mother having to fend for themselves. They strike up a friendship with Massu who helps them survive but the both want to desperately leave this place. However, there doesn't seem to be any way out of there.
I will not say much more about the plot but I will tell you that the story encompasses three generations of women (at some point we find Aurea's daughter, who also named Maria, added to the story when she is ten years old) and that Montenegro and Torres each play more than one role. Waddington does a fantastic job directing the film and gets great performances out of the whole cast. Elena Soarez's screenplay is at the same time both simple and complex. And the cinematography by Ricardo Della Rossa is beyond magnificent.
As I mentioned before all of the acting is top notch but Montenegro and Torres are especially outstanding. I have seen Montenegro in two previous films (Central Station and The Other Side of the Street) so I already knew that she is a first rate actress. When checking on Torres I noticed that she was in Four Days in September. I remember the film but only vaguely remember her. But after seeing her in this film I certainly hope to see her in more films in the future (and perhaps I will have to watch Four Days again to see her performance). The two actresses have great chemistry together and besides their acting skills I am sure that has to do with the fact that they are in real life mother and daughter. They just play off each other so well.
This film is about survival and about making the best of any situation you might find yourself in.
But most of all (at least to me) it is about the special bond between mother and daughter. I wish I would have been able to see this film with my mother (she saw Montenegro in Central Station and really liked it) but sadly she is gone. I am sure that she would have felt the same way about the film that I did and walked out of the theater misty eyed.
posted by Film Fanatic | 3:13 PM
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