1001 Nacht: Volume 2: Der Verzweifelte (2015)

1001 Nacht: Volume 2: Der Verzweifelte: Directed by Miguel Gomes. With Crista Alfaiate, Chico Chapas, Luísa Cruz, Pedro Caldas. Continuation of the Arabian Nights stories by the structure were adapted to modern life in Portugal in three innings and the third chapter “The Owners of Dixie” has three chapters.

“While I was enthralled with Arabian Nightsu0026#39; Volume 1, unfortunately the spark is lost for Volume 2, which is Portugalu0026#39;s submission for the Oscar in Best Foreign Language Film, but despite the trilogyu0026#39;s acclaim, it feels like a long shot if theyu0026#39;re truly vying with this one. Anyone watching it as a standalone feature will struggle to go with its flow, and anyone who didnu0026#39;t like Volume 1 will be hard pressed to have their minds change. Its biggest problem is that the first two vignettes are tedious, void of the potency of Volume 1. One we follow an old man off-the-grid evading police, and another is a surreal courtroom sequence where we vaguely learn the hypocrisies of the system how everyone is guilty of some kind of criminal act. Considering the concept of the film is that we have a string of stories that are supposed to hook you in so much that you want to hear how they end, these two do not live up to those expectations. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eInspiration seemed to be drained at the halfway mark. Itu0026#39;s redeemed enough by the final tale, though itu0026#39;s still one of the weaker vignettes across the three films. It justifies the quiet restraint of Volume 2, which is perhaps why Portugal felt it would be more digestible to the Academy, though this one is still a little too loose. At the very least, it connects it back to the hardships of the everyday people as a lovely stray dog is passed around a tower block until each owner can no longer afford to look after it. Gomes employs more flourish that he had on full throttle for the first volume, with a Wes Anderson-esque tour of the block and its residents, finally bringing this volume back to life. Perhaps Gomes had a realisation about the repetition of the structure of Volumes 1 and 2, despite those early surprises, as Volume 3 takes things in a different direction.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSee the other volumes for the rest of my review for Arabian Nights.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e7/10u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRead more @ The Awards Circuit (http://www.awardscircuit.com/)”