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{{Infobox Film
{{Infobox film
| name = Casa de Lava</br>(Down to Earth)
| name = Casa de Lava<br>(Down to Earth)
| image =
| image =

| image_size =
| caption =
| caption =
| director = [[Pedro Costa]]
| director = [[Pedro Costa]]
Line 8: Line 8:
| writer = [[Pedro Costa]]
| writer = [[Pedro Costa]]
| narrator =
| narrator =
| starring = [[Inês de Medeiros]]</br>[[Isaach De Bankolé]]</br>[[Édith Scob]]</br>Raul Andrade
| starring = {{ubl|[[Inês de Medeiros]]|[[Isaach De Bankolé]]|[[Édith Scob]]|Raul Andrade}}
| music = Raul Andrade, Paul Hindemit
| music = Raul Andrade, Paul Hindemit
| cinematography = [[Emmanuel Machuel]]
| cinematography = [[Emmanuel Machuel]]
| editing = Dominique Auvray
| editing = Dominique Auvray
| distributor =
| distributor =
| released = 1995
| released = {{Film date|1995}}
| runtime = 110 minutes
| runtime = 110 minutes
| country = {{FilmPortugal}}
| country = Portugal
| language = [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]</br>[[Cape Verdean Creole]]
| language = Portuguese<br>[[Cape Verdean Creole]]
| budget =
| budget =
| gross =
| gross =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
}}
}}
'''''Down to Earth''''' ({{lang-pt|Casa de Lava}}) is a 1995 [[cinema of Portugal|Portuguese]] [[drama film]] directed by [[Pedro Costa]]. The film is set in [[Cape Verde Islands]], a former [[Portuguese colonies|Portuguese colony]].
'''''Down to Earth''''' ({{Lang-pt|Casa de Lava|lit=Lava House}}) is a 1995 [[cinema of Portugal|Portuguese]] [[drama film]] directed by [[Pedro Costa]]. The film is set in [[Cape Verde Islands]], a former [[Portuguese colonies|Portuguese colony]].


This drama film is characterized by its reduced [[narrative]], and photographies of the [[volcano]] in the Cape Verde islands. The title literally means "a house of [[lava]]". The film has been described by some reviewers as Costa's remake of [[Jacques Tourneur]]'s 1943 film, ''[[I Walked with a Zombie]]'',<ref>[http://www.altfg.com/film/pedro-costa-at-cinematheque-ontario/ Pedro Costa: COLOSSAL YOUTH, DOWN TO EARTH at Cinematheque Ontario], Alt Film Guide</ref><ref>[http://thequietus.com/articles/10180-casa-de-lava-pedro-costa-second-run-dvd-ica-screening News - Casa De Lava DVD And Screening], Manish Agarwal, ''The Quietus'', September 27th, 2012</ref><ref>[http://www.cinemateca.pt/CinematecaSite/media/Documentos/set_2013.pdf Cinemateca - setembro 2013], Cinemateca Portuguesa, page 10</ref> and Costa himself has suggested that his original intention for ''Down to Earth'' was for it to be a remake of Tourneur's film.<ref>{{Citation|last=ICA|title=Horse Money: Q&A with Pedro Costa hosted by Laura Mulvey|date=2015-12-10|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygSIKWpOUBo |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/ygSIKWpOUBo |archive-date=2021-12-15 |url-status=live|accessdate=2017-01-24}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Costa's work has often been compared by some to modern updates of classical Hollywood films,<ref>[http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/2007/11/cinema-of-the-future/ Films of the Future] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815104029/http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/2007/11/cinema-of-the-future/ |date=2016-08-15 }} [on Pedro Costa], Jonathan Rosenbaum, November 15, 2007, originally in the ''[[Chicago Reader]]''</ref> with Jonathan Rosenbaum pointing out that ''[[Colossal Youth (film)|Colossal Youth]]'' may be viewed as Costa's remake of [[John Ford]]'s 1960 film ''[[Sergeant Rutledge]]''.<ref>[http://www.debordements.fr/spip.php?article404 Colossal Youth and Horse Money, Pedro Costa - Where Are Now the Dreams of Youth ?], Michael Guarneri, ''débordements'', 3 september 2015</ref><ref>[http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/2007/11/cinema-of-the-future/ Films of the Future] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815104029/http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/2007/11/cinema-of-the-future/ |date=2016-08-15 }} [on Pedro Costa], Jonathan Rosenbaum, November 15, 2007, originally in the ''[[Chicago Reader]]''</ref>
The drama is characterized by its reduced [[narrative]], and photographies of the [[volcano]] in the Cape Verde islands. The title literally means "a house of [[lava]]".


''Casa de Lava'' was screened in the [[Un Certain Regard]] section at [[1994 Cannes Film Festival]].<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2985/year/1994.html |title=Festival de Cannes: Down to Earth |accessdate=2009-08-30|work=festival-cannes.com}}</ref>
''Casa de Lava'' was screened in the [[Un Certain Regard]] section at [[1994 Cannes Film Festival]].<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2985/year/1994.html |title=Festival de Cannes: Down to Earth |accessdate=2009-08-30|work=festival-cannes.com}}</ref>


==Plot==
==Plot==
The film tells a story of Mariana, a depressed [[nurse]] working in [[Lisbon]].
The film tells a story of Mariana, a [[nurse]] who leaves [[Lisbon]] to accompany an [[immigrant]] worker in a [[coma]]tose sleep on his trip home to [[Cape Verde]]. The devoted Portuguese nurse took a journey only to find herself lost in abstract drama.
There she finds that "she brought a living man among the dead."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://gemini-films.com/catalogue/casadelava_us.htm |title=Quoted from the distributor's official synopsis |access-date=2007-04-04 |archive-date=2006-10-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061023204159/http://www.gemini-films.com/catalogue/casadelava_us.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Costa made the film in a densely [[minimalist#Minimalism in Film|minimalist]] style. Cryptic ellipses, cinematographic precision, narrative abstraction and lingering imagery of people and place, notably [[Mount Fogo]], the highest [[active volcano]] of Cape Verde, are features in this melancholic meditation on love and loneliness.
She accompanies an [[immigrant]] worker in a [[coma|comatose]] sleep on his trip to home.
After she arrives in Cape Verde, she encounters the strange and enigmatic world.
The devoted Portuguese nurse took a journey only to find herself lost in abstract drama.
There she finds that "she brought a living man among the dead."
<ref>Quoted from the distributor's official synopsis: [http://gemini-films.com/catalogue/casadelava_us.htm]</ref>

The director Pedro Costa made the film in a [[minimalist#Minimalism in Film|minimalist]] style.
Some ominous, poetic imageries of local people and [[Mount Fogo]], the highest [[active volcano]] of Cape Verde, are used as esoteric [[metaphors]] of the heroine's isolation.
For instance, the eerily first images are of Mount Fogo's [[volcanic eruption]] and the lava flowing on its surface, preluding this film about solitary life with juxtaposition of [[silent]] volcanic eruption and locals' [[close-up]] shots accompanied by ominous music.


==Cast==
==Cast==
* [[Inês de Medeiros]] - Mariana (as Inês Medeiros)
* [[Inês de Medeiros]] – Mariana (as Inês Medeiros)
* [[Isaach De Bankolé]] - Leão
* [[Isaach De Bankolé]] – Leão
* [[Edith Scob]] - Edite
* [[Édith Scob]] – Edite
* [[Pedro Hestnes]] - Edite's Son
* [[Pedro Hestnes]] – Edite's Son
* [[Isabel de Castro]]

==Influence of the making of the film in Costa's future career==
In an interview with [[Jean-Pierre Gorin]], Costa has stated that ''Casa de Lava'' was the gateway to making his films in Fontainhas. When he left Cape Verde after filming, many people gave him letters or presents to deliver to their friends and relatives back in Lisbon. Costa went to the shantytown of Fontainhas to deliver the letters and became enraptured with the environment, its smells and sensations (which he called spicy).


==References==
==References==
Line 50: Line 44:


==External links==
==External links==
* {{imdb title|id=0109384|title=Casa de Lava}}
* {{IMDb title|id=0109384|title=Casa de Lava}}
* {{Amg movie|134216|Casa de Lava</br>(Down to Earth)}}
* {{AllMovie title|134216|Casa de Lava<br>(Down to Earth)}}
* [http://www.madragoafilmes.pt/casadelava/# Casa de Lava]
* [http://www.madragoafilmes.pt/casadelava/# Casa de Lava]


{{Pedro Costa}}
{{CinemaofPortugal}}


[[Category:Portuguese films]]
[[Category:1990s Portuguese-language films]]
⚫
[[Category:Portuguese-language films]]
[[Category:1995 films]]
[[Category:1995 films]]
[[Category:Films set in Africa]]
[[Category:Films set in Cape Verde]]
[[Category:Films directed by Pedro Costa]]
[[Category:Films directed by Pedro Costa]]
[[Category:1990s drama films]]
[[Category:1995 drama films]]
[[Category:Films produced by Paulo Branco]]

⚫
[[Category:Portuguese drama films]]
{{Africa-film-stub}}
{{Portugal-film-stub}}
{{CapeVerde-stub}}

Latest revision as of 16:47, 12 February 2024

Casa de Lava
(Down to Earth)
Directed byPedro Costa
Written byPedro Costa
Produced byPaulo Branco
Starring
CinematographyEmmanuel Machuel
Edited byDominique Auvray
Music byRaul Andrade, Paul Hindemit
Release date
  • 1995 (1995)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryPortugal
LanguagesPortuguese
Cape Verdean Creole

Down to Earth (Portuguese: Casa de Lava, lit. 'Lava House') is a 1995 Portuguese drama film directed by Pedro Costa. The film is set in Cape Verde Islands, a former Portuguese colony.

This drama film is characterized by its reduced narrative, and photographies of the volcano in the Cape Verde islands. The title literally means "a house of lava". The film has been described by some reviewers as Costa's remake of Jacques Tourneur's 1943 film, I Walked with a Zombie,[1][2][3] and Costa himself has suggested that his original intention for Down to Earth was for it to be a remake of Tourneur's film.[4] Costa's work has often been compared by some to modern updates of classical Hollywood films,[5] with Jonathan Rosenbaum pointing out that Colossal Youth may be viewed as Costa's remake of John Ford's 1960 film Sergeant Rutledge.[6][7]

Casa de Lava was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at 1994 Cannes Film Festival.[8]

Plot[edit]

The film tells a story of Mariana, a nurse who leaves Lisbon to accompany an immigrant worker in a comatose sleep on his trip home to Cape Verde. The devoted Portuguese nurse took a journey only to find herself lost in abstract drama. There she finds that "she brought a living man among the dead."[9] Costa made the film in a densely minimalist style. Cryptic ellipses, cinematographic precision, narrative abstraction and lingering imagery of people and place, notably Mount Fogo, the highest active volcano of Cape Verde, are features in this melancholic meditation on love and loneliness.

Cast[edit]

Influence of the making of the film in Costa's future career[edit]

In an interview with Jean-Pierre Gorin, Costa has stated that Casa de Lava was the gateway to making his films in Fontainhas. When he left Cape Verde after filming, many people gave him letters or presents to deliver to their friends and relatives back in Lisbon. Costa went to the shantytown of Fontainhas to deliver the letters and became enraptured with the environment, its smells and sensations (which he called spicy).

References[edit]

  1. ^ Pedro Costa: COLOSSAL YOUTH, DOWN TO EARTH at Cinematheque Ontario, Alt Film Guide
  2. ^ News - Casa De Lava DVD And Screening, Manish Agarwal, The Quietus, September 27th, 2012
  3. ^ Cinemateca - setembro 2013, Cinemateca Portuguesa, page 10
  4. ^ ICA (2015-12-10), Horse Money: Q&A with Pedro Costa hosted by Laura Mulvey, archived from the original on 2021-12-15, retrieved 2017-01-24
  5. ^ Films of the Future Archived 2016-08-15 at the Wayback Machine [on Pedro Costa], Jonathan Rosenbaum, November 15, 2007, originally in the Chicago Reader
  6. ^ Colossal Youth and Horse Money, Pedro Costa - Where Are Now the Dreams of Youth ?, Michael Guarneri, débordements, 3 september 2015
  7. ^ Films of the Future Archived 2016-08-15 at the Wayback Machine [on Pedro Costa], Jonathan Rosenbaum, November 15, 2007, originally in the Chicago Reader
  8. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Down to Earth". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
  9. ^ "Quoted from the distributor's official synopsis". Archived from the original on 2006-10-23. Retrieved 2007-04-04.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Down_to_Earth_(1995_film)&oldid=1206609969"