Friday, January 6, 2012

Fontainhas

In Vanda's Room (2000) - Costa
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It's probably the first time for me that I don't want to say much about a film that I just saw. Not because I don't have anything to say, but the film is so earnest, intimate, unique and undefinable, anything I think of saying sounds extremely trivial. I can just tell you what it's not. Even though it is about junkies in urban ghetto (Fontainhas in Lisbon, Portugal), it's not a poverty porn with pretty pictures. Yes, it contains some mesmerizing images. But I felt like an asshole taking those beauty screengrabs above because they don't justify this 3 hour film and its cumulative effect on me in any way. Gritty, grimy reality Costa captures with the least bit of sentimentality has no equal. The resilience of the inhabitants of Fontainhas has no equal.

My favorite segment is probably Vanda and Nhurro/Pango, her childhood friend in her tiny room- him asking her if he could stay with her a little bit, then them talking about choosing/not choosing the way of life they lead. Really beautiful stuff.

Ossos Review

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