BROOKLYN — From March 7 to 30, BAMcinématek, the repertory
film program at BAM Rose Cinemas, presents “The Talking
Pictures of Manoel de Oliveira.”
Born in 1908, Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira’s
age is inevitably mentioned whenever one of his films is
shown. However, since 1990 Oliveira has made a film per year,
only increasing his productivity and creativity with time.
Oliveira delivers sublimely crafted works rooted in the
European literary tradition of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,
Gustave Flaubert, and Eugène Ionesco, along with that of
Portuguese writers, while using his self-reflexive style to
challenge the nature of cinema itself.
BAMcinématek celebrates Oliveira’s centennial with this
retrospective of 18 features and five shorts, many of which
are presented in new prints. These films range from early
documentary works from the 30s and 40s through his most
recent film “Christopher Columbus, The Enigma.” Organized by
BAMcinématek with the collaboration of Antonio Pedroso, this
retrospective will tour North America in 2008, with
screenings at Harvard Film Archive, Pacific Film Archive,
UCLA, Cleveland Film Society, and more.
Kicking off the series this Friday, March 7 are a pair of
features that bookend Oliveira’s career to date, his first
feature “Aniki Bóbó” (1942) and his most recent “Christopher
Columbus, the Enigma” (Cristóvão Colombo—O Enigma) (2007).
“Aniki Bóbó” blends neo-realism and fantasy to tell the
story of three children as they play along the Douro River.
In “Christopher Columbus, the Enigma,” Oliveira recreates
the real-life search by Manuel Luciano and Silvia da Silva
to prove that Columbus was actually Portuguese-born.
Oliveira himself appears in the film, along with his wife
Isabel, as an older version of the couple. The Village Voice
comments that the film “is part literary adaptation, part
scholarly romance, part impish exercise in avant-garde
nationalism, and altogether enchanting.”
The retrospective continues on March 8 with Oliveira’s
third feature “The Past and the Present” (O Passado e o
Presente) (1971), about a widow unable to love her new
husband. The film was the first of the four that came to be
known as Oliveira’s “Tetralogy of Frustrated Love,”
significant as the first works to bring Oliveira to
international attention.
Next on March 9 is the second film of the tetralogy,
“Benilde or the Virgin Mother (Benilde ou a Virgem Mãe)
(1975). This story of a possibly immaculate birth is based
on a play by José Régio. “Rite of Spring” (Acto de
Primavera) (1963), the filmmaker’s second feature, follows
on March 13. The film self-consciously mixes documentary and
fiction in its depiction of a local town’s passion play.
More films follow, until the last screening, “Voyage to
the Beginning of the World” (Viagem ao Princípio do Mundo)
(1997), starring Marcello Mastroianni in his last role,
screens on March 29.
Tickets are available by phone at (718) 777-FILM, or
online at BAM.org. For more information, call the
BAMcinématek hotline at (718) 636-4100 or visit BAM.org.
© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2007
All materials posted on BrooklynEagle.com are protected by
United States copyright law.
Just a reminder, though -- It’s not considered polite to
paste the entire story on your blog. Most blogs post
a summary or the first paragraph,( 40 words) then post a
link to the rest of the story. That helps increase
click-throughs for everyone, and minimizes copyright issues.
So please keep posting, but not the entire article. arturc
at att.net
Main Office 718 422 7400
