*** (Three stars)
In this very personal documentary, Paula Gaitán, a visual artist, photographer, poet and filmmaker, crafts a 90-minute love letter to Brazilian filmmaker Glauber Rocha, her companion and father of her two children, by revisiting the Portuguese town where they lived before his death in 1981. Rocha, a central figure in the “Cinema Novo” movement in Rio, had several successful films in the ’60s but never reached the critical acclaim many film aficionados feel he deserved. Interspersing home movies with photographs and dramatic shots of the Portuguese landscape, Gaitán reflects on the memory and loss that is still present for her 25 years after her lover’s death. In archive footage, Rocha is seen commenting on politics, films and death and playfully singing to his children. These snippets are typically followed by seemingly endless montages of waves and sun shining through trees—often accompanied by New Age music.—Lisa Levinson, sales & marketing director, North/Latin America, Time Out Guides
[This is a TONY staff review, written for the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. It is not considered an official review and should not be read as such. Please think of it as a casual impression from a movie-loving friend.]