| Aquarius | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Kleber Mendonça Filho |
| Written by | Kleber Mendonça Filho |
| Produced by | Saïd Ben Saïd Emilie Lesclaux Michel Merkt |
| Starring | Sônia Braga |
| Cinematography | Pedro Sotero Fabricio Tadeu |
| Edited by | Eduardo Serrano |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 140 minutes |
| Countries | Brazil France |
| Language | Portuguese |
| Box office | $1.1 million[1] |
Aquarius is a 2016drama film written and directed byKleber Mendonça Filho and starringSônia Braga as Clara, the last resident ofAquarius building, who refuses to sell her apartment to a construction company that intends to replace it with a new edifice. It was selected to compete for thePalme d'Or at the2016 Cannes Film Festival.[2][3]
The film generated uproar in Brazil due to its political connotations, especially because it was released at the apex of the country'spolitical crisis. The film's cast and crew actively positioned itself against what they considered to be acoup d'état in Brazil, showing protest signs at Cannes.[4]
A number of controversies were raised over the film, including its nonselection as the country's entry to theBest Foreign Language Film at the89th Academy Awards by theMinistry of Culture’s committee,[5] which has been seen as a supposed act of retaliation by Brazil's new government.[6]
It was nominated for several awards, including theIndependent Spirit Award for Best International Film and theCésar Award for Best Foreign Film. The film was included in a number of critics' lists of best films of the year, including fromSight & Sound,Cahiers du cinéma andThe New York Times.
In 1980, Clara and her family celebrates her aunt's birthday at the Aquarius apartment building inRecife after overcoming a breast cancer that cost her right breast. In the present day, Clara, now a retired journalist and writer, is still living in the same apartment, but alone, since her husband died 17 years before and her three children have moved out. Her only constant company is her maid Ladjane.
She refuses to accept a buy-out from Geraldo, head of Bonfim, and a development company that wishes to reclaim her apartment in order to replace the old building with a larger and homonymous edifice, even though all the other apartments are already vacant and despite her own children's advice to accept the offer.
The developers, especially the proprietor's grandson, American educated designer and head of the new Aquarius project Diego, become frustrated with Clara's resistance and try to disturb her through a number of means, including throwing parties at the apartment right above hers and burning mattresses at the parking lot. Eventually, in an open argument, she berates Diego that education without decency amounts to nothing.
Clara starts digging up dirt on Bonfim through her contacts. Also, she learns from two former employees of the company that Diego orderedtermite nests to be installed inside empty apartments to force Clara out. With the help of her friends Roberval, a lifeguard, and Cleide Vieira, a lawyer, she breaks into some apartments and confirms they are swarming with termites.
Accompanied by her brother Antonio, her nephew Tomás (Pedro Queiroz) and Cleide, she goes to Bonfim to confront Diego and Geraldo over the dirty deeds and the termites.[5]
OnRotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 97% based on 114 reviews, with an average rating of 8.10/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Led by a powerful performance from Sônia Braga,Aquarius uses a conflict between a tenant and developers to take an insightful look at the relationship between space and identity".[7] OnMetacritic, the film has a score of 88 out of 100, based on reviews from 22 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[8]
Peter Bradshaw, writing forThe Guardian, awarded the film 4 stars out of five and called it "beautifully observed and surprising", "a richly detailed character study, immersing the audience in the life and mind of its imperious main character, Clara, who is addressed as 'Dona Clara', commandingly played by Sônia Braga", yet criticizing the film's ending.[9] Jay Weissberg, inVariety, compared the film to Mendonça Filho's previous project,Neighboring Sounds, calling it "a more subtle film but no less mature, a calmer film but no less angry", and strongly complimented Sonia Braga's acting and Mendonça Filho's directing skills.[10]
In Brazil, the film has engendered both standing ovations in cinema room and calls for boycotts.[5] Major newspapersFolha de S. Paulo andO Estado de S. Paulo both lauded the film, with the first declaring that Mendonça Filho possesses an "absurd mastery of cinema", praising his camera works and use of sound and music. The newspaper also praised the film for its bravery in discussing Brazilian social issues.[11]O Estado de S. Paulo declared that the film was "brilliant, a commendation to resistance" and "very pleasant to watch", while commenting on its submersion on political discussions.[12]
| Award/Festival | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Cannes Film Festival[13][14] | Palme d'Or | Nominated |
| Queer Palm | Nominated | |
| Sydney Film Festival[15] | Best Film | Won |
| Transatlantyk Festival[16] | Best Film | Won |
| Jerusalem Film Festival | Best Film | Nominated |
| Mar del Plata International Film Festival[17] | Golden Astor | Nominated |
| Silver Astor - Best Actress forSônia Braga | Won | |
| Audience Award | Won | |
| ACCA Award Best International Film Competition | Won | |
| Lima Film Festival[18][19] | Jury Award | Won |
| Best Actress forSônia Braga | Won | |
| Munique International Film Festival[20] | Best Film | Nominated |
| Zurich Film Festival[21][22] | Best Internacional Film | Nominated |
| Independent Spirit Awards[23] | Best International Film | Nominated |
| San Diego Film Critics Society[24][25] | Best Foreign Language Film | Nominated |
| Best Female Actor forSônia Braga | Won | |
| Havana Film Festival[26] | Best Actress forSônia Braga | Won |
| 42nd César Awards[27] | Best Foreign Film | Nominated |
| Cartagena Film Festival[28] | Best Film | Won |
Aquarius has generated widespread controversies in Brazil and abroad. The film's political tone and its time of release have prompted public outcry, both of support and of criticism.
During the first exhibition ofAquarius at the2016 Cannes Film Festival, the film's cast showed protest signs written in Portuguese, English and French criticising Brazil's political turmoil of the time. The signs read messages such as "Brazil is not a democracy anymore", "Sauvez la démocratie brésilienne" ("Save Brazilian democracy"), and "Dilma, vamos resistir com você" ("Dilma, we will resist with you"). Immediate internet response followed, with supporters ofDilma's impeachment suggesting boycotting the film. Among these, the right-wing columnist Reinaldo Azevedo wrote that "it is the duty of people of good will to boycott this film".[29]Aquarius distributing company then used this sentence in the film's promotional poster, along three other positive quotes, what has been understood as an act of subversion.[30]
Aquarius was released in Brazil at theFestival de Gramado, when it provoked standing ovations and shouts of "Temer Out", a constant scream of protest in Brazil of those who criticize President Temer's controversial rise to power. After this, similar protests became common in Brazil at venues that exhibited the film.[31][32][33] Those protests were commonly observed during the film's ending credits, with critics of Temer's administration shouting command words suggesting that the president took over the country by means of a "coup".[34]
Initially, theMinistry of Justice of Brazil gaveAquarius an 18 years old rating, attributed to sexual content and scenes of drug use.[35] However, the criteria used to support the rating were challenged on the grounds that Brazil was the only country in whichAquarius had been, or was going to be, distributed to give the film such a rating, and that other more graphic films in Brazil had received less restrictive ratings. Protest ensued and, at the day of the film's premiere, the Ministry reduced the rating to 16 years old.