The main character, Benjamim Zambraia (Paulo José), is an old model/mediocre actor who is haunted by memories of his past. He meets Ariela Masé (Cleo Pires), a beautiful woman identical to an ex-girlfriend whose death he himself caused (advertently or inadvertently, it isn't clear). The movie is made up of a mosaic of memories between past and present, both Benjamim's and Ariela's, with political undertones throughout.
Movie adaptations of books are never "perfect," whether due to audience expectation or the fact that it's impossible to cram all of the subtle details into two hours. The mishmash made the movie a bit hard to follow at times, especially because the memory sequences weren't necessarily in chronological order. However, the aesthetic doesn't detract from the movie from the movie - it merely requires multiple watches to catch all the details. We come to see that the present mirrors the past in certain ways, and by the end of the movie we come full circle with parallel situations in past and present.
The cinematography was great, and creatively captured the mood and personalities of the characters and their settings perfectly. I thought Paulo José was fantastic. I didn't think Cleo Pires's acting was a letdown, per sé. I thought the character Ariela was convincing, though not phenomenal. With all the complexities in her plot and situation I think she could have been portrayed with much more depth but I did find her to be a bit bland.
Movie adaptations of books are never "perfect," whether due to audience expectation or the fact that it's impossible to cram all of the subtle details into two hours. The mishmash made the movie a bit hard to follow at times, especially because the memory sequences weren't necessarily in chronological order. However, the aesthetic doesn't detract from the movie from the movie - it merely requires multiple watches to catch all the details. We come to see that the present mirrors the past in certain ways, and by the end of the movie we come full circle with parallel situations in past and present.
The cinematography was great, and creatively captured the mood and personalities of the characters and their settings perfectly. I thought Paulo José was fantastic. I didn't think Cleo Pires's acting was a letdown, per sé. I thought the character Ariela was convincing, though not phenomenal. With all the complexities in her plot and situation I think she could have been portrayed with much more depth but I did find her to be a bit bland.