Country: Portugal
Year: 2008
Duration: 99'
A man stares down at his father, who is being kept alive by an artificial
respirator. When he returns to his apartment he must face the solitude
of now-empty rooms that not even the presence of a dog can fill.
The death of his parent puts an end to his continuous reminiscing
on his childhood. He meets a pregnant woman who has come to the
hospital in a panic because her husband has had an accident. In the
meantime, another woman, who lives in an isolated country house,
is abandoned by her companion and she, too, is forced to face her
own solitude and the pain of abandonment.
“When you lose someone, spaces become empty, objects, memories,
plans are all shattered. Everything becomes the arena of a
consciousness that connects us to our surroundings, to ghosts and
shadows. It is a breakdown in our life since it turns the self inwards,
and every single thing has to be reinvented into being what can be
let go. In putting everything on the same level, it is, paradoxically,
extremely liberating.”
Biography
film director
Sandro Aguilar
Sandro Aguilar (Portugal, 1974) studied cinema at the Escuela Superior de Teatro e Cinema. In 1998 he founded the production company O Som e a Fúria with Luis Urbano. In 1999 he participated to the Locarno Film Festival with his second short film, Estou Perto, receiving the Pardi di domani Award. Sem Movimento (2000) was selected by the Venice Film Festival, where it earned a special mention. He made Remains in 2002 and A Serpente in 2005, both of which were presented in Locarno. His debut feature film, A Zona (2008), was presented at the Torino Film Festival, as was his next project Mercúrio, which also participated to many other international film festivals, winning the highest honors at the Oberhausen Short Film Festival.
FILMOGRAFIA
O Cadáver Esquisito (cm, 1996), Estou Perto (cm, 1998), Sem Movimento (cm, 2000), Corpo e Meio (cm, 2001), Remains (cm, 2002), A Serpente (cm, 2005), Arquivo (cm, 2007), A Zona (2008), Voodoo (mm, 2010), Mercúrio (cm, 2010), And They Went (cm, 2011), Sinais de Serenidade por Coisas sem Sentido (cm, 2012).
Cast
& Credits
regia, sceneggiatura, montaggio, scenografia/director, screenplay, film editing, production design Sandro Aguilar
fotografia/cinematography Paulo Ares
costumi/costume design Sílvia Siopa
suono/sound Pedro Melo
interpreti e personaggi/cast and characters
António Pedroso (Rui), Cátia Afonso (Luísa), Tiago Barbosa (Pai), Guilherme Pina Cabral, Joao Nicolau, Isabel Abreu, Gustavo Sumpta
produttori/producers Sandro Aguilar, Luís Urbano
produzione, vendita all’estero/production, world sales O Som e a Fúria
fotografia/cinematography Paulo Ares
costumi/costume design Sílvia Siopa
suono/sound Pedro Melo
interpreti e personaggi/cast and characters
António Pedroso (Rui), Cátia Afonso (Luísa), Tiago Barbosa (Pai), Guilherme Pina Cabral, Joao Nicolau, Isabel Abreu, Gustavo Sumpta
produttori/producers Sandro Aguilar, Luís Urbano
produzione, vendita all’estero/production, world sales O Som e a Fúria