Araby (2017)

Andre is a young boy that lives in an industrial neighborhood in Ouro Preto, Brazil, near an old aluminum factory. One day he finds a notebook from one of the factory workers.

Directors:

João Dumans, Affonso Uchoa

Writers:

João Dumans (co-writer), Affonso Uchoa (co-writer)

Stars:

Aristides de Sousa, Murilo Caliari, Gláucia Vandeveld

17 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Aristides de Sousa	...	Cristiano
Murilo Caliari	...	Andre
Gláucia Vandeveld	...	Márcia
Renata Cabral	...	Ana
Renan Rovida	...	Renan
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
José Maria Amorim	...	Barreto
Katia Aracelle	...	Dona Olga
Adriano Araújo	...	Cascão
Anna Campos	...	Jéssica
Osvaldo Pires de Lima	...	Osvaldo do Violão
Carlos Francisco	...	Antônio Carlos
Débora Guimarães	...	Edilene
Marcos Jamanta	...	Caminhoneiro
Gabriela Luiza	...	Bia
Janaína Morse	...	Dona Conceição

Storyline

André is an 18-year-old boy who lives near an aluminum factory in the industrial city of Ouro Preto, in southeastern Brazil. One day, after a fatal accident that has occurred in the factory, he is sent to the home of the dead worker, Christian, to collect some of his belongings. There you will find a newspaper that describes the last years in the life of the worker, a man who spent his entire life in the midst of poverty and social oppression. The first film directed jointly by Joao Dumans and Affonso Uchoa tells the adventures, loves and despairs of Cristiano, a fascinating character whose lyrical gaze immerses us in the reality of the most disadvantaged class in Brazil.

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Plot Keywords:

boy | social issues | minas gerais | southeast brazil | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Did You Know?

Soundtracks

Marina
Written by Dorival Caymmi

User Reviews

Bordering on boring with a few interesting moments. Keeps your attention nevertheless due to the variety in scenery and people we meet

Saw this at the Rotterdam film festival (iffr.com) 2017, where it was part of the Tiger Competition. Similar to 2016, again the nominations for the Tiger Award were confined to only eight movies, so being part of the happy few rises expectations. The movie itself has the format of a road movie, but that would be a misnomer. Actually we see an endless series of jobs, places, people he met or worked with, and so on and so forth. There is no development of any kind, just a seemingly infinite sequence. It portrays the lives of the workers there and their low-end jobs with low (or none, sometimes) payment. Everything is centered around one man: Christiano, who wrote it all down in a diary for 20 years.

The net result is mildly interesting because of the variety in locations, work places and situations. There were a few pivotal moments, however, for example when people talked about the late Bareet (sp?) who was good in organizing workers into a strike and thus successfully forced better payments. A second example was his short relationship with Ana, that prematurely ended but continued on a distance by exchanging letters. But that is all there is. I wrongly assumed beforehand that the diary would expose the dangers faced by workers in the factory, causing the hospitalization of Christiana that we see in the opening scene. But there was no such indictment against employers, although we see ample instances where laborers do have to work in questionable circumstances.

The movie borders on boring due to the very calm passage of scenes, yet keeps you awake for the complete running time because of the diversity of said scenes. Each on itself was powerful enough to stand on its own feet and to make clear what was going on. The role of young man Andre is minimal, and only important in the first 10 minutes when he is sent to collect some clothes and an ID after Christiano is hospitalized, in whose house he finds a diary spanning 30 years. From that moment on, the story rewinds to the moment when Christiano started to take notes. The story is told by a voice-over intermixed with played fragments, all of which feature Christiano but each time having other co-players and a different location as tapestry.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Brazil

Language:

Portuguese

Release Date:

5 April 2018 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

Araby

Filming Locations:

Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Box Office

Budget:

BRL500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,668, 24 June 2018

Gross USA:

$38,399

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$38,399

Company Credits

Production Co:

Katásia Filmes, Vasto Mundo

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min 97 min (original)

Color:

Color (HD) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1