FILMS/
THE END AND THE BEGINNING
O fim e o princípio
Documentaries
Brazil, 2006, 110 minutes
SHOWTIMES
Sun, Apr 29 / 07:15 / Kabuki / END29K
Tue, May 1 / 03:30 / Kabuki / END01K
Thu, May 3 / 04:00 / Kabuki / END03K
CREDITS
- dir
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Eduardo Coutinho
- prod
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Eduardo Coutinho
- scr
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Eduardo Coutinho
- cam
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Jacques Cheuiche
- editor
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Jordana Berg
- source
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Videofilmes Distribuidora, Praça N. Sra. da Glória 46, 22211-110 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil FAX: +55-21-2285-3865 EMAIL: bia@videofilmes.com.br
Eduardo Coutinho continues his fascinating, career-long exploration of everyday people in his native Brazil in this thoroughly unconventional, richly populated documentary. The veteran filmmaker travels to Paraiba, a small state in the northeast, in search of a story. As the film opens, he explains that he arrived with no preconceived ideas other than wanting to find and film a rural community in the backcountry. With a film crew in tow, he eventually meets Rosa, a young woman who becomes his liaison to the many families living in her community. She is somehow related to nearly everyone, and introduces Coutinho to a variety of memorable residents during an eye-opening two-week period. He befriends 70-year-old Rita, who worked in the fields since she was five years old and now regrets that she’s too old to toil. When asked if she thinks about death, she answers, "The hour is not for us to decide." Coutinho also meets 80-year-old Assis, who quips, "Don’t worry, poverty ain’t catching;" a woman who raised her three daughters on her own; and a woman who declares that living alone is better than living with someone who is "bad company." The wise, weathered faces of these village philosophers reveal a lifetime of experiences and a strong will to survive. Despite their hardscrabble lives, they have been able to maintain their pride and independence. Through their varied stories, Coutinho creates a filmic essay that celebrates the dignity of the human spirit.
—Chuleenan Svetvilas
North American Premiere. Sponsored by DHL. Presented in association with Friends of Brazil.