Audience Member
The esthetics of disgrace
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/12/23
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Audience Member
I haven't figured this one out yet other than it's a new take on Social Realism and Kino-Pravda. No story, just meaningless desperation.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/01/23
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Audience Member
This is the first Pedro Costa film I've seen. I wanted to see newer films like In Vanda's Room or Colossal Youth, but i couldn't find them anywhere so this one had to do. I wasn't blown away by it, but I found it worth my time.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/17/23
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Audience Member
Artistic and sleek breakout film from Portuguese auteur Pedro Costa, following a few depressingly poor slum dwellers through the immediate aftermath of the delivery of an unwanted baby. Costa's style is deliberately slow, with little movement, dialogue, lighting, characterization, or plot, like a cinema verite documentary composed of static shots and only slightly altered versions of the actors' true selves (whose own slum was demolished a few years later partly because of the celebrity of this film). This is for serious fans of directors like Liang, Bresson, and Hsien only, and for them Criterion rewards their patience with interviews with Costa and collaborators.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/01/23
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Audience Member
A brilliant movie about the loss of hope, about being just bones, no flesh, no soul.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/30/23
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Audience Member
An incredible piece of filmmaking from Costa. The rich imagery and stunning sound design of this downbeat area of Lisbon gives the film its vitality, while the pacing, the barely moving camera, and the non-expressive characters suggest the near-absence of life in this section of the city. And yet, the regular sounds of chatter, laughter, and animals suggest that life continues on, vibrant, full, and most of all, somewhere else.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/26/23
Full Review
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