17 04 FREE BRAZILIAN FILM – ‘Posthumous Memories’

29 Mar, 2013

‘Cineclub Brazil’ presents ‘Posthumous Memories’ directed by André Klotzel.
6.30pm @ Brazilian Embassy (Embassy of Brazil in London, 14-16 Cockspur Street, SW1Y 5BL) +info: 020 7747 4500 FREE http://www.cinemaofbrazil.org

A brief introduction to Machado de Assis’s novel Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas (1881) on which the film is based will be made by Nadia Kerecuk. There will be a Q&A session after the screening of the film also with the participation of Renato Barcellos.

FILM SUMMARY
Following his death in 1869, Brás Cubas (Reginaldo Faria / Petrônio Gontijo), is minded to amuse himself a little in eternity by deciding to narrate his memoirs and revisiting the most remarkable facts in his life. He warns, ‘Candour is the prime virtue of a deceased man’. It is with disconcerting sincerity that he recalls his childhood, youth, family scenes and remarkable characters such as his friend, Quincas Borba (Marcos Caruso), a beggar turned millionaire. He also tells us about his academic training in Portugal and the questionable privilege of never having to work. In a similarly candid manner, Brás Cubas invites the spectator to witness his tumultuous love life. He recalls his first love, the Spanish courtesan Marcela (Sonia Braga) that loved him for ‘15 months and 11 contos de réis (million Royals)’. His second love, young Eugênia (Milena Toscano), was ‘pretty but used to limp’. And his great passion, Virgília (Viétia Rocha), that ends up swapping him for the politician Lobo Neves (Otávio Müller). In commenting on daily life or national events, either in life or death, Brás Cubas alternates irony and bitterness, melancholy and good mood without ever losing his light touch. In whichever state of mind Brás Cubas is, he surprises us with his irreverence and devastating lucidity.

2001 | 101 minutes | Drama/Comedy | Portuguese with English subtitles