Aquarius
Clara, a 65 year old widow and retired music critic, was born into a wealthy and traditional family in Recife, Brazil. She is the last resident of the Aquarius, an original two-story building, built in the 1940s, in the upper-class, seaside Boa Viagem Avenue, Recife. All the neighboring apartments have already been acquired by a company which has other plans for that plot. Clara has pledged to only leave her place upon her death, and will engage in a cold war of sorts with the company. This tension both disturbs Clara and gives her that edge on her daily routine. It also gets her thinking about her loved ones, her past and her future.
13 June 1965, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil
30 January 1994, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
18 November 1985, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
28 August 1991, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
30 December 1956, Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil
22 August 1978, Limoeiro, Pernambuco, Brazil
1958, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
8 June 1950, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil
March 29, 2017
Aquarius is a leisurely character study that is also urgently political in its treatment of race, class and commerce.March 28, 2017
A stealth and perverse advance that ends up manifesting in the attitude and style of the people, dragging us all to the point where, in the modern world, acting with conviction, truth and love can be seen as an act of rebellion. [Full review in Spanish]March 28, 2017
Sonia Braga gives us one of the best performances of 2015, as a woman who's not only defending her future, but also recriminating why her past must be demolished to give way to the so-called progress. [Full review in Spanish]April 11, 2017
Aquarius is the excellent new film from director Kleber Mendonça Filho, which upon viewing appears to be simply a heartfelt look at the personal cost of gentrification.October 27, 2016
This is a film more about the sacredness of our memories than the evil ways of gentrification, but skilled director Kleber Mendonca Filho is clearly interested in both.April 26, 2017
This clever, nuanced drama doubles as a political allegory concerning Brazilian corruption. But it would matter, regardless. A dawning, as the similarly-titled song has it.October 24, 2016
Despite Sonia Braga's fierce performance as a woman of unbreakable determination and proud refinement, this drama by the Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho quickly lapses into sentimental attitudinizing.October 28, 2016
This isn't a movie about a situation; it's a movie about a fully formed, red-blooded character dealing with a situation while also dealing with everything else.April 05, 2017
This film is the story of a free woman but above all, the renewal of a favorite Hollywood plot: the rebellion of women. [Full review in Spanish]October 27, 2016
In an era when movies about and for older viewers tend to be insipid comedies, this is a welcome change of pace.October 20, 2016
"Aquarius" makes a compelling case for looking up from our ubiquitous distractions to take in the world around us - the one that we live in and, whether we're aware of it or not, lives in us.November 08, 2016
"Aquarius" is about a half-hour too long for the story it tells, yet it feels like a privilege to be in the presence of such a powerful character and such a quietly commanding performance.