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Vitalina Varela

Pedro Costa
P 2019
124 min
V'19

Einmal mehr beweist Pedro Costa, dass er ein entscheidender Filmemacher unserer Zeit ist. In diesem Porträt einer Frau, die nach Jahren ihrem Ehemann von den Kapverden nach Lissabon folgt, nur um drei Tage nach seiner Beerdigung anzukommen, verbindet er formvollendete Behutsamkeit im Umgang mit den Menschen vor der Kamera mit inhaltlicher Notwendigkeit. Die Frau ist die titelgebende Vitalina. Ihre heisere Stimme erzählt wie ihre ungemeine Präsenz von einem Leben, das sich gegen die Tragik stemmt. Im Halbdunkel verwahrloster Vororte finden Kamera und Ton essenzielle Gefühle einer Heimatlosigkeit. Auf seine Art Costas sentimentalster Film. (Patrick Holzapfel)
 
In Anwesenheit von Pedro Costa.

It was in CAVALO DINHEIRO (2014) that we first met Vitalina Varela, a 55-year-old woman from Cape Verde. At that time, we didn’t know much about her character but after five years, the master Portuguese filmmaker Pedro Costa is finally back and with a new film fully dedicated to her, VITALINA VARELA (2019). On screen, in the sumptuous darkness of the night, men and women walk together in a procession between life and death with crosses and saints over their heads. Suddenly, we meet again the haunted-heroine who gives name to the title. She has arrived late to her husband’s funeral in the outskirts of Lisbon. She has been waiting for her plane ticket for more than 25 years.
In his films, Pedro Costa has continually returned to immigrant communities in Portugal and now, without her deseased husband Joaquim and after retreating into isolation, Vitalina must start a new life there. VITALINA VARELA is a film of unique beauty in cinema. It feels like a message from another time. A heartbreaking story illuminated by a truly remarkable performance of its star. (Gustavo Beck)

In the presence of Pedro Costa.

 

Credits
  • Pedro Costa
  • Vitalina Varela
  • Leonardo Simões
  • João Gazua
  • João Dias
  • Vítor Carvalho
  • Ventura
  • Vitalina Varela
  • Manuel Tavares Almeida
  • Francisco Brito
  • Imídio Monteiro
  • Marina Alves Domingues
OPTEC Sociedade Óptica Técnica

OPTEC Sociedade Óptica Técnica

Filmgarten
DCP
Farbe
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