Aquarius
Gothenburg
Sun 20 Nov
17:45 — Hagabion
Malmö
Sun 27 Nov
15:15 — Panora
Stockholm
Sun 4 Dec
14:00 — Zita
Swedish Subtitles
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Svenska Undertexter
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Swedish Subtitles 〰️ Svenska Undertexter 〰️
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PRODUCTION YEAR: 2016
GENRE: Drama
DIRECTOR: Kleber Mendonça Filho
COUNTRY: Brazil
CAST: Sônia Braga
FILM DURATION: 146
AGE LIMIT: Not rated
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Clara, 65, lives her life to the fullest with her family and friends. A construction company wants her Recife oceanfront condo, as they've already bought all the other in the 3 story building. Clara's staying.
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LANGUAGE: Portuguese
SUBTITLES: Swedish
Review
Aquarius (2016) is Kleber Mendonça Filho’s second feature, which continues to explore some of the themes of his previous film, O Som ao Redor (Neighboring Sounds, 2012), in the depiction of a small community, the interpersonal relationships of its inhabitants and the weight of the memories of the past. But it’s much more than a continuation of the previous film, remarkable in the way it is attuned to the hidden malaise of its time, surveying the uneasiness and restlessness that seems to hang in the air, foreshadowing the slow disintegration of a society that is losing empathy and surrendering to a partisanship that has contaminated all sorts of matters in recent years in Brazilian society. But Aquarius is also (or only) about its main character, Clara, a masterfully written strong and complex fortress of a woman, masterfully played by Sonia Braga, showcasing exactly why she is considered one of the greatest Brazilian actresses: from curiosity to boredom, from sorrow to joy, filled with energy, sensuality, nostalgia, despair and hope, her range is magnificent and, in that way, this is also a cinematic love letter to her, to acting and to women in general.
The core of the film is the story of Clara’s apartment, the last independently owned flat in a building taken over by a company wanting to rebuild it as a luxury complex. All that is left for Clara is to sell her part, and a couple of representatives from the building company keep harassing her to do it. Upon her refusal, strange things start happening in the building - like late night loud parties, among other things - trying to complicate her peaceful life, but she remains unfazed. Later, another window of conflict opens when her daughter almost demands that Clara sell the apartment because she needs the money, now that she is divorced, but still Clara seems unbreakable. This is, after all, her home, where her kids grew up and is filled with memories and her beloved artifacts. But this story plays out like a background to reveal Clara’s network of support: her friends, her family, the way she connects to other people in her life, from her maid to the lifeguard at the beach where she usually takes a swim by herself, and how human connections override any other kind. It is filled with nostalgia, at the same time defending that it shouldn’t be nostalgia but part of the present, in the same way that the film employs old photographs as not only mementos or reminders, but as important pieces of the present time. Clara’s way is, after all, an antidote to the bitterness around her, and a personal history of survival above anything else.
João Araújo
À pala de Walsh