A Warlike Sense for the Beautiful Things

In Brazil, the vigil accompanies the dying as they cross into the other world, helping them take the final step when the body is too weak, and breath too short to take the leap. The vigil has many faces: the visible face of a choir of men and women, of family and friends gathered in prayer at invalid’s bedside, that of a great book containing the rites and prayers, that of slow steps treading the grass between the gravestones, of ritual objects, of amulets laid on the altar, of the candle’s quivering flame, but above all, of an invisible, floating spiritual power, shade and breath wandering over the surface of faces, over wrinkles and folds of skin, and which each of us seeks in vain without seeing it, as it has become the camera’s eye.

Detours, scams, and unexpected visits occur. A country house needs cleaning. A worker is hired for the job. The deadline is tight, and a series of seemingly insignificant events prevents her from completing her tasks.

Bruno lives in a black and white world for so long that he forgot what colors are, as well as his phobia towards them. Seeing all the color in a fruit basket, Bruno rediscovers his fear and the effects of his phobia.

The film shows the daily routine of the inhabitants in a small town, who are forced to live with machines that dig the earth seeking minerals. There, the everyday is full of mechanic rituals and has a few little moments of intense humanity. At the same time, they live under intense and accusing eyes of those who, undesirably, make part of their daily lives.