Vitalina Varela (film)

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Movie
Original title Vitalina Varela
Country of production Portugal
original language Portuguese
Publishing year 2019
length 124 minutes
Rod
Director Pedro Costa
script Pedro Costa,
Vitalina Varela
production Abel Ribeiro Chaves
camera Leonardo Simoes
cut João Dias ,
Vítor Carvalho
occupation

Vitalina Varela is a film drama by Pedro Costa that celebrated its world premiere on August 14, 2019 at the Locarno Film Festival . The milieu study depicts the life of the title character Vitalina Varela in a slum in Lisbon .

production

It was directed by Pedro Costa , who also wrote the script together with Vitalina Varela . Varela, who comes from the island state of Cape Verde , a former Portuguese colony, also plays herself in the film. She was already seen in a supporting role in Costa's 2014 film drama Horse Money . According to press reports, Costa's film is the true life story of his protagonist Vitalina Varela, who arrives at Lisbon airport three days after her husband's funeral. In monologues one learns that Vitalina Varela married her husband Joaquim in 1982 and started building a house with him in Cape Verde. Later Joaquim went to Lisbon, came back once, but then disappeared completely. Vitalina learns that he was in prison at some point, but never finds out why he left her behind without a word. Vitalina now lives in her husband's run-down apartment in Portugal.

Ventura as an old priest and Manuel Tavares Almeida can also be seen in other roles. Ventura was already a central figure in the Costa films Juventude em Marcha and Horse Money . He appeared for the first time with Varela in Horse Money .

The film was shot in the slums of the Portuguese capital, Lisbon . The recordings were made almost exclusively at night. Only in two short flashbacks to Varela's time in Cape Verde can the blue sky be seen, which contrasts with the dark colors that are otherwise used in the film.

The film premiered on August 14, 2019 as part of the Locarno Film Festival and won the main prize there. He ran in 2019 at the Toronto International Film Festival , the Hamburg Film Festival , the London Film Festival , the Film Festival Cologne and Munich opened UNDERDOX Festival . It was released in Portuguese cinemas on October 31, 2019. The film is offered in Germany on the Grandfilm platform at Vimeo . The cinema release in Germany should take place on July 23, 2020. At the end of August 2020, the film will be presented at the Molodist International Film Festival , which will take place in a hybrid version.

reception

Reviews

The film has so far won over 98 percent of all Rotten Tomatoes critics and achieved an average rating of 8.5 out of a possible 10 points.

Variety's Jay Weissberg writes that if Pedro Costa were to organize an exhibition of stills from the film, he and his cameraman Leonardo Simões would surely win more fans: “As a series of fixed images on a wall, such photos would be a rigorous approach to lighting and framing testify. “They would probably also create a greater feeling of empathy in the viewer than revealed in the film, Weissberg continues. The problem is not the lack of a story, but rather the pieced together nature of the film. In his opinion, less narration could have done the film good and strengthened an emotional connection in the viewer. Costa shows Vitalina's fatigue by highlighting the shadows around her large, expressive eyes, but ultimately it shows that the director is clearly in love with the monumental presence of this woman who has the aura of an opera diva .

In the annual top list of the film magazine Sight & Sound , published by the British Film Institute , the film is ranked 10th among the best films of 2019.

Awards

Chicago International Film Festival 2019

  • Nomination for best feature film in the international competition ( Pedro Costa )
  • Awarded the Silver Hugo Award (Pedro Costa)

Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata 2019

  • Nomination in international competition

Festival international du film de La Roche-sur-Yon 2019

  • Awarded the Ciné + Jury Grand Prix (Pedro Costa)

Filmfest Hamburg 2019

  • Nomination for the Sichtwechsel film award

Festival Internacional de Cine de Gijón 2019

  • Award for best film in the official competition (Pedro Costa)
  • Award for the best camera ( Leonardo Simões )

Locarno Film Festival 2019

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Eric Kohn: 'Vitalina Varela' Review: Another Ravishing, Masterful Vision From Pedro Costa. In: indiewire.com, August 15, 2019.
  2. ↑ a b c d Jay Weissberg: Locarno Film Review: 'Vitalina Varela'. In: Variety, August 17, 2019.
  3. ↑ Philipp Stadelmaier: In the post-mortem waiting room. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung Online, October 11, 2019.
  4. ↑ 72nd Locarno Film Festival - press kit. In: locarnofestival.ch. Accessed November 7, 2019 (PDF; 13.3 MB)
  5. ↑ Patrick Wellinski: Director Pedro Costa wins Golden Leopard. In: Deutschlandfunk Kultur, August 17, 2019.
  6. ^ Andréa Picard: Vitalina Varela. In: tiff. Toronto International Film Festival Inc., accessed October 11, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Vitalina Varela. In: filmfesthamburg.de. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  8. ^ Film Festival Cologne: Festival program. In: filmfestival.cologne. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  9. ↑ Fritz Göttler: Light that creeps out of the pictures. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung Online, October 9, 2019.
  10. ↑ Vitalina Varela on the VoD page of Grandfilm on Vimeo. (Video)
  11. ↑ Start dates in Germany. In: insidekino.com. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  12. ↑ https://www.spielfilm.de/filme/3008219/vitalina-varela
  13. ↑ 150 films: International film festival “Molodist” announced the program. In: cinema.in.ua, August 8, 2020.
  14. ↑ Vitalina Varela. In: Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  15. ↑ http://beta.blickpunktfilm.de/details/445964
  16. ^ Announcing Competitions for the 55th Chicago International Film Festival. In: chicagofilmfestival.com. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  17. ↑ Portrait of a Lady on Fire and Vitalina Varela Win Top Awards At The 55th Chicago International Film Festival. In: chicagofilmfestival.com. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  18. ↑ https://www.lanacion.com.ar/espectaculos/cine/festival-mar-del-plata-peliculas-tenes-ver-nid2304314
  19. ^ Fabien Lemercier: Vitalina Varela awarded at La Roche-sur-Yo. In: cineuropa.org, October 21, 2019.
  20. ^ David González: Vitalina Varela shines bright at the Gijón Film Festival. In: cineuropa.org, November 25, 2019.