To the left of the father

At one time rejected and an outcast from his family, Andre comes home after many years away. His brother Pedro convinces him to return home to dine with and find solace in the company of loved ones. But the gathering brings forth memories of the childhood that once tore the family apart. Andre remembers his sister Ana with whom he fell in love; needs and desires are doomed from the very beginning. Director Luiz Fernando Carvalho makes a brilliant adaptation of Raduan Nassar's 30 year old novel, Lavoura Arcaica, about a family of Lebanese immigrants in Brazil. With veteran cinematographer Walter Carvalho painting poetic pictures and composer Marco Antonio Guimaraes' mix of Arabian music with elements of Brazilian music, Carvalho's cinematic view reaches beyond the traditional family epic. The mood and tempo of the film is slightly Tarkovskian, but, in some ways, with more melancholy. I n many senses, the story is about different generations and the ways in which traditions are meant to be broken. The patriarchal foundation on which the family household is built both crumbles and stands firm. And when it is questioned and challenged, the consequences effect everyone. JOHAN LINDQVIST

Premiärstatus
–: Medverkande
Selton Mello,Raul Cortez,Simone Spaladore: Producent
Videofilmes: Manus
Luiz Fernando Carvalho: Foto
Walter Carvalho: Musik
Antonia Guimaraes: Talat språk
Portugese