A Copacabana Films release (in Brazil) of a BR Distribution/Brazil Telecom presentation of a Ravina Films production. Produced by Flavio R. Tambellini. Directed by Joao Jardim, Walter Carvalho. Screenplay, Jardim.
With: Eugen Bavcar, Antonio Cicero, Arnaldo Godoy, William Lima Jr., Hermeto Pascoal, Joao Ubaldo Ribeiro, Oliver Sacks, Jose Saramago, Hanna Schygulla, Marieta Severo, Agnes Varda, Wim Wenders.
(Portuguese, English, French dialogue)
A dense yet thoroughly satisfying docu unafraid of tackling big ideas, Joao Jardim's and Walter Carvalho's "Window of the Soul" assembles several thinkers and artists talking about human sight and perception. Stitched together with a stream-of-consciousness fluidity, this Brazilian made but completely international pic compels the viewer to ponder the act of seeing even while watching the unspooling. A more ideal festival docu is hard to imagine -- especially with the strong on-screen presences of such Euro personalities as Wim Wenders, Agnes Varda and Hanna Schygulla. And after a solid Brazilian commercial run last summer, eyeballs at fests, niche theaters and cable will be happily stimulated.
Early sections lean mostly toward Portuguese and Brazilian contributors, while latter third is more dominantly in English. Wry opener focuses on the damaged eyes of the great eccentric among Brazilian jazz greats, Hermeto Pascoal, which look in different directions. Pascoal treats it all like a little game: Which eye of his should lenser Carvalho look into, and which is Pascoal's "true" eye?
As in the study of neurobiology, which gleans knowledge about the brain by including study of deformities, any examination of what it means to see inevitably is linked to optical exceptions. Yet pic also establishes, care of Portuguese Nobel laureate novelist Jose Saramago, that human sight seems to be just right for our mental and physical condition. Romeo wouldn't have likely been drawn to Juliet, Saramago speculates, if his sight had a falcon's acuity, able to spot every hair on a person's skin.
There's a healthy acceptance of people as they are in the film, best exemplified by blind photographer Eugen Bavcar, whose striking black-and-white photos, from nudes to celebs to abstracts,show an innate ability to know where his subject is. (Pascoal playfully points to in the middle of his forehead to suggest an "inner eye.")
The wonder of "Window" is that it works without any noticeable structure or thematic course. It jumps from thesp Marieta Severo explaining it would be "death" for her not to be able to see her fellow cast members on stage, to author Joao Ubaldo talking about how his sex partners almost never ask him to take off his glasses in bed, and on to helmer Wenders recalling how he tried to experience his aunt's blindness by walking around for 30 minutes at a time with eyes closed.
Tech package is utterly elegant, with sections bridged by image sequences shot by Carvalho deliberately out of focus.
Camera (Duart color), Carvalho; editors, Karen Harley, Jardim; music, Jose Miguel Wisnick; production designer, Bia Castro; sound (Dolby Digital); assistant director, Gabriela Weeks. Reviewed at Palm Springs Film Festival, Jan. 18, 2003. Running time: 73 MIN.
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Date in print: Wed., Jan. 22, 2003