Underplayed Gems

Aquarius (2015)

Aquarius poster
Directed by
Kleber Mendonça Filho
Genre
drama film
Country
Brazil
Runtime
2h 25m
Rated
NR
Rating
7.4 of 10 from 515 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A retired journalist named Clara is the last holdout in an old apartment building. A construction company wants to buy her place and tear the building down, but she refuses to leave.

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What happens

Aquarius is a 2016 drama film written and directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho and starring Sônia Braga as Clara, the last resident of Aquarius building, who refuses to sell her modest apartment to a construction company that intends to replace it with a skyscraper. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. The film generated uproar in Brazil due to its political connotations, especially because it was released at the apex of the country's political crisis. The film's cast and crew actively positioned itself against what they considered to be a coup d'état in Brazil, showing protest signs at Cannes. A number of controversies were raised over the film, including its nonselection as the country's entry to the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards by the Ministry of Culture’s committee, which has been seen as a supposed act of retaliation by Brazil's new government. It was nominated for several awards, including the Independent Spirit Award for Best International Film and the César Award for Best Foreign Film. The film was included in a number of critics' lists of best films of the year, including from Sight & Sound, Cahiers du cinéma and The New York Times. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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