Direction: João Paulo Miranda Maria
Country: Brazil
João Paulo Miranda Maria’s debut feature, Memory House, delivers pertinent social commentary, fueled by a decent modern-day plot hybridized by primitive Brazilian folklore. However, its accomplishment is somewhat refrained by the uninventive visuals and the austerity in the way it’s presented.
The solitary indigenous Cristovam (veteran Cinema Novo actor Antônio Pitanga), a native of Goiás, has been working for an Austrian dairy company that operates in the South of Brazil for nearly three decades. Ignored by everyone, he only has a three-leg dog waiting for him to arrive at his modest house. He’s often a victim of discrimination and cruelty, and his salary is unfairly cut down as a result of both the economic crisis and the automation of the work.
When out of the job, he enjoys going to an abandoned house filled with objects that are reminiscent of his roots and people. But he seems more and more disconnected from the world, especially after screwing up the only chance he got to connect with his co-worker Jandira (Aline Marta Maia) and her daughter Jennifer (Ana Flavia Cavalcanti). That’s the last straw for him. There’s an unremitting undertone of doom, and Cristovam realizes he needs to attack to defend himself.
Quietly heartbreaking and ponderously heavy, this film seems to haunt itself. It literally depicts the gradual poisoning of a marginalized individual through the toxic environment that surrounds him.
