508 Letters from Fontainhas: Three Films by Pedro Costa

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Robespierre
Joined: Mon Apr 17, 2017 5:31 pm

Re: 508 Letters from Fontainhas: Three Films by Pedro Costa

#126 Post by Robespierre » Wed Jan 31, 2018 3:50 am

And Costa doesn't do it in an exploitative manner either, kind of just shows it as it is which is why I gravitated towards the idea that they're on the margins of society because they are poor drug addicts. Whichever came first is largely irrelevant. The scene late in the film where they discuss how they got there was quite telling for me because the woman seems to at least recognize that they made a choice while the man sees himself as a victim of circumstance or even "destiny". I'm not sure we entirely disagree; in that sense they chose to be forgotten, chose to live on the margins, and their world is dark, ill-defined, fuzzy, and immobile. A movie about some wealthy stockbroker in Lisbon probably wouldn't look the same because they have means with which to sustain themselves, they're presumably not killing themselves, have some sort of future, don't live in darkness, etc.

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omegadirective
Joined: Tue Apr 13, 2021 7:34 pm

Re: 508 Letters from Fontainhas: Three Films by Pedro Costa

#127 Post by omegadirective » Thu Jun 17, 2021 8:13 am

I just watched this box set for the first time and found this to be the most incredibly boring series of films I’ve ever seen in my life.

I’ve been reading reviews of these films, and I just can’t wrap my head around the praise for these movies.

2 hours could have been removed from both Vanda’s Room and Collosal Youth, and they still would have been too long.

I feel this way because Ossos, Robbit Hunters, and Little Boy Male/Little Girl Female we’re all too long.

IMO, this is the bottom of the barrel for Criterion releases. A new least favorite.

If you enjoy these, I’m very happy for you.
I wish I could.

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