Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho made his narrative directorial debut with 2012’s Neighboring Sounds, which arrived with wide critical acclaim. This year at Cannes he debuted his follow-up, Aquarius, which follows a musician and widow who vows to stay in an apartment complex largely bought out by a company with plans for the location. This leads to conflict and revelation regarding family, her past, and her future. Netflix picked up the film, presumably for a U.S. premiere later this year.
It was one of our favorites of Cannes, and we said in our review, “The staggeringly accomplished debut feature by Brazilian critic-turned-director Kleber Mendonça Filho, Neighboring Sounds, announced the arrival of a remarkable new talent in international cinema. Clearly recognizable as the work of the same director, Mendonça’s equally assertive follow-up, Aquarius, establishes his authorial voice as well as his place as one of the most eloquent filmic commentators on the contemporary state of Brazilian society.”
The first international trailer has now arrived, and considering the lack of subtitles, it does leave a bit to be desired on the comprehension level. One can still get a strong sense of visual language, even if the assumedly chopped chronology of this dialogue-heavy preview will have you a bit confused. Still, it demonstrates what looks to be an affecting performance from Sônia Braga in a film that seems both somber and uplifting.
See the trailer below (via Globo), along with a poster:
After stopping at a number of festivals, Aquarius will open in Europe this September, with no U.S. release yet announced via Netflix.