Cinema, Aspirins & Vultures (Cinema,
Asprina E Urubus/2005/First Run Features Global Lens Collection)
Picture: C Sound: C+ Extras: C Film: B
One of
the most interesting film series on DVD has been First Run Features’ Global
Lens Collection, for which the good taste of those running the company often
shines through. One of my favorites of
the many films already issued is co-writer/director Marcelo Gomes’ Cinema, Aspirins & Vultures (Cinema, Asprina E Urubus/2005) that
tells the story about the fate of two men trying to move ahead in the world and
finding the world is less steady than hard reality cons us into thinking.
Johann
(Peter Ketnath) is a salesman driving a special van around to sell aspirin for
a major company (that looks suspiciously like Bayer, often criticized for their
role in The Holocaust and still not settling with its victims) carrying a bunch
of the pills and even having a portable movie theater! The film is a promo film explaining to those
he meets that aspirin is for them in Northeast Brazil, 1942. Suddenly, he meets the anxious, ambitious and
even desperate Ranulpho (Joao Miguel) to make something of his life and his
future. Can he sell aspirin too?
The drama
has some wonderful touches of comedy and irony throughout as the men get to
know each other better and it inadvertently becomes one of the best road movies
we have seen in a while. The film
commercial is like a film within a film and the idea that one aspirin can bring
happiness beyond relief is not lost as funny on the potential customers, but
they still buy them. The twist (skip if
you know enough to want to see the film…) occurs when WWII breaks out and
Brazil sides with the Allies that a good guy like Johann is stabbed in the back
by circumstance.
The
result is a smart, to the point, well-acted work I really enjoyed and is very
much worth going out of your way for!
The
letterboxed 1.85 X 1 image is a little softer and with blown out whites than
one would like, though some of it is intended, but Director of Photography
Mauro Pinheiro, Jr. surprises with some fine choice shots and I like the
opening/closing motif and how it enhances the story. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Portuguese/German sound
is stereophonic enough, though some music sources are monophonic within the
world of WWII. Tomaz Alves Souza’s score
is another plus, used cleverly in conjunction with the radio and commercial
aspirin film to score this film. Extras
include DVD-ROM PDF Discussion Guide, trailer for 2005 films in the series and
text with stills on key releases in the series.
- Nicholas Sheffo
