A Margem (1967)

Second viewing; the first was on August 7, 1990.

English title: The Margin

Several people wander more or less aimlessly at and in the vicinities of a riverside shanty town: a middle class outsider who has just arrived on a boat, a prostitute who has wedding fantasies about him, an oligophrenic man holding a daisy, another prostitute whom the oligophrenic loves, etc.

This might be categorized as a cinematic poem, since there is next-to-no narrative, and the tone is decidedly lyrical. I loved it on my previous viewing, but could not keep the same level of admiration on my second one. It is an uneven film, with the beginning half hour faring slightly better than the rest of it. Overall, it is an interesting film, genuinely poetic, and, despite the director's alleged inexperience, intelligently filmed. At times one senses a certain artificiality, and then the film's limitations cannot be ignored. Technical issues, too, mostly related to badly edited sequences, although not serious enough to compromise the film, are occasionally a burden to the viewer. And sometimes it is simply too hard to understand what is going on with the characters. The score is a major factor on this film's artistic status. The composer and performers might even be considered co-authors.

Rating: 60 (down from 77)