Movie No. 182 (2013): NEIGHBOURING SOUNDS

Neighbouring Sounds (2012)
Director: Kleber Mendonca Filho
Cast: Irandhir Santos, Gustavo Jahn
In Portuguese, with English subtitles

Synopsis, from ROTTEN TOMATOES:

A history of oppression and violence threatens to engulf the residents of an affluent seaside community in this film. A palpable sense of unease hangs over a city block in the coastal town of Recife in Brazil. Home to prosperous families and the servants who work for them, the area is ruled by an aging patriarch and his sons. When a private security firm is reluctantly brought in to protect the residents from a recent spate of petty crime, it unleashes the fears, anxieties and resentments of a divided society still haunted by its troubled past.

It's easy to get lost in this movie. One layer of it discusses social class. Another layer lets us peek into some characters' mysterious lives. Then there's the tapestry of interesting idiosyncrasies of the characters who may or may not be associated with the place's history of violence. This is a kind of film that tests patience. The film's running time is 2 hours 5 minutes, but it's in the last 3 minutes that everything will make sense. I almost gave up to finish seeing the film. But I'm glad I stayed until the end; my patience paid off. The film's use of space and eerie sounds add to the film's greatness. At some point I felt like I was watching a horror film because of excellent aural orchestration. But thinking of what the central story is about, there's indeed some elements of horror in it. But not in the usual way we perceive horror in horror films.

I didn't expect the way it ended. But it's grand!

Rating: 4.0/4.0

Date seen: October 27, 2013