Aquarius (2016)

Aquarius: Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho. With Sônia Braga, Maeve Jinkings, Irandhir Santos, Humberto Carrão. Clara, 65, lives her life to the fullest with her family and friends. A construction company wants her Recife oceanfront condo, as they’ve already bought all the other in the 3 story building. Clara’s staying.

“Quiet, precise and profoundly critical, Aquarius is a sharp depiction of an ever changing, ever adapting Brazilian society, increasingly subject to a disproportionate capitalism that is bulldozing over identity, history and sentiment. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSplit into three chapters – one of them construed as a prologue – there would not be a better way of introducing who this(ese) character(s) is(are) and setting up what their nature is, what motivates them and what kind of culture, family values and roots they hold throughout. Led by a powerful and heartfelt performance by Sónia Braga that single-handedly carries the film, meticulously embodying all of the characteru0026#39;s traits in her continuous struggles with motherhood, disease, change and most importantly time lapse. Her artistic preferences and passions show how a deeply and typically traditional society can still honor and maintain their culture while not being averse to technology, change and evolution. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAt the end of the day, Aquarius is an elegant tale of how opinions and values change with time and how easily the current generation might be bent and influenced by money and greed and how that greed can easily stampede over traditionalism. A definite must see.”