Memory House

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1:29

Memory House

2021

1h 27m

Drama

Fantasy

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80%

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15 Reviews

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In this audacious debut feature, João Paulo Miranda Maria conjures a surreal image of the racial and social rifts in modern day Brazil. Cristovam (played by Cinema Novo icon Antônio Pitanga), an Indigenous Black man from the rural North, moves to an industrialized Southern town populated by the descendants of Austrian ex-pats to work in a milk factory. Immediately confronted with their virulent racism, he becomes more and more estranged from the white world. Upon discovering an abandoned house filled with objects reminding him of his origins, Cristovam begins a spiritual and physical metamorphosis...

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Manuel Betancourt

Variety

09/08/2021

What's most remarkable about "Memory House" is not just its boldness but its beauty.

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Beatrice Loayza

New York Times

09/02/2021

Better as a mood piece than a political statement...

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Kathleen Sachs

Chicago Reader

10/19/2020

Rife with magical realist elements, the film is a visual and auditory treasure trove...

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Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

09/13/2021

Increasingly grotesque, Memory House is a visually arresting if simple parable with little need for dialogue.

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Filipe Freitas

Always Good Movies

09/09/2021

3/5

It literally depicts the gradual poisoning of a marginalized individual through the toxic environment that surrounds him.

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Avi Offer

NYC Movie Guru

09/02/2021

6.2428/10

Poetic and unflinching with shades of Ken Loach and Carlos Reygadas, but emotionally cold without enough left to the audience's imagination.

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MB C

@MB.Cinema Jan 5

A slow burning drama-fantasy that trades conventional storytelling for mood, symbolism, and political unease....Following an Indigenous dairy worker in southern Brazil, the film explores racism, labor exploitation, and the psychological scars of colonial history....Rather than a clear plot, the narrative drifts through memory, identity, and mental collapse, using long takes and minimal dialogue....Its imagery is bold and intellectually rich, but the heavy reliance on metaphor may alienate viewers seeking emotional payoff....The pacing is deliberately suffocating, creating atmosphere at the expense of narrative cohesion....Ambitious, unsettling, and uneven, Memory House provokes reflection more than pleasure, leaving questions instead of answers.....

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Topa J

@RT74596471 10/23/2023

While beautiful and moody, with a transfixing performance by the lead, it didn't take long for the allure of Memory House's mystery to wear off and be replaced by a sleepy confusion. That said I would love to watch a youtube video explaining the mythological metaphors being used here.. As is, it just comes off as unaccessible and unclear.

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Eric P

@wchevres 08/10/2022

Contemporary surrealist reflection on colonialism and economic colonialism. Very original, carefully done. Good for any art house buffs; like Elia Suleiman's film, but with dissociation and a bit of bitterness, rather than madcap satire.

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João Paulo Miranda Maria

Director

Antonio Pitanga

Cristovam

Ana Flavia Cavalcanti

Actor

Sam Louwyck

Actor

Gilda Nomacce

Actor

Aline Marta Maia

Actor

Memory House: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

In this audacious debut feature, João Paulo Miranda Maria conjures a surreal image of the racial and social rifts in modern day Brazil. Cristovam (played by Cinema Novo icon Antônio Pitanga), an Indigenous Black man from the rural North, moves to an industrialized Southern town populated by the descendants of Austrian ex-pats to work in a milk factory. Immediately confronted with their virulent racism, he becomes more and more estranged from the white world. Upon discovering an abandoned house filled with objects reminding him of his origins, Cristovam begins a spiritual and physical metamorphosis...

Director: João Paulo Miranda Maria
Producer: Denise Gomes, Paula Cosenza, Didar Domehri
Screenwriter: João Paulo Miranda Maria, João Paulo Miranda Maria
Distributor: Film Movement
Production Co: Maneki Films, Celluloid Dreams, Canal Brasil, Pandora Filmes
Genre: Drama, Fantasy
Original Language: Brazilian Portuguese
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 3, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 13, 2021
Runtime: 1h 27m

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