Sudoeste

  • 128'
  • Brazil
  • 2011
The languid, lateral black-and-white shots and repetitive background sounds of Eduardo Nunes' feature debut Southwest inevitably evokes memories of the work of Béla Tarr. But where Tarr used that style to break open reality, Nunes (b. 1969) chooses a more magical approach with this Brazilian parable about a woman who passes through her life in one day.
It is immediately obvious from the title that Southwest enters the domain of the fantastic, because the southwest of Brazil doesn’t exist - at least not officially. It’s an area beyond the frontiers of the visible. Most characters experience the day that is coming just like every other, even though the young, pregnant Clarice dies in the early morning in an inn. In the hours that follow, another Clarice appears: first as a baby, then as a little girl, then as a teenager and finally as an adult woman. Under the scorching sun, she changes from one character to another.
The contrast between these radical changes and the slow tempo makes the viewer search for a handhold. Nunes, who won several prizes with his short films, uses this dreamy yet also painful and tragic narrative to point to Christian and magical stories. But in the end, there is no clear logic; only the puzzle of time and life.

Director
Eduardo Nunes
Premiere
European première
Country of production
Brazil
Year
2011
Festival Edition
IFFR 2012
Length
128'
Medium
35mm
International title
Southwest
Language
Portuguese
Producers
Patrick Leblanc, Helder Dacosta
Production Companies
Superfilmes, Tropicalstorm Entertainment
Sales
Tropicalstorm Entertainment
Screenplay
Guilherme Sarmiento, Eduardo Nunes
Cinematography
Mauro Pinheiro Jr.
Editor
Flávio Zettel
Production Design
André Weller
Sound Design
Leandro Lima, Gabriel d'Angelo
Music
Cristiano de Abreu, Tiago Azevedo, Yuri Villar
Cast
Simone Spoladore, Raquel Bonfante
Director
Eduardo Nunes
Premiere
European première
Country of production
Brazil
Year
2011
Festival Edition
IFFR 2012
Length
128'
Medium
35mm
International title
Southwest
Language
Portuguese
Producers
Patrick Leblanc, Helder Dacosta
Production Companies
Superfilmes, Tropicalstorm Entertainment
Sales
Tropicalstorm Entertainment
Screenplay
Guilherme Sarmiento, Eduardo Nunes
Cinematography
Mauro Pinheiro Jr.
Editor
Flávio Zettel
Production Design
André Weller
Sound Design
Leandro Lima, Gabriel d'Angelo
Music
Cristiano de Abreu, Tiago Azevedo, Yuri Villar
Cast
Simone Spoladore, Raquel Bonfante