Houve Uma Vez Dois Verões (2002)

Director:

Jorge Furtado

Writer:

Jorge Furtado (writer)

Release Date:

2002 (Brazil)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

A coming of age dramatic comedy dealing with the effect that two "summers" have on the lives of several teenagers...

Plot Keywords:

Summer | Teenager | Brazil | Beach | First Love

Awards:

4 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

André Arteche	...	Chico
Ana Maria Mainieri	...	Roza
Pedro Furtado	...	Juca
Júlia Barth	...	Carmem
Victória Mazzini	...	Violeta
Marcelo Aquino	...	Inácio
Janaína Kremer Motta	...	Mulher de Inácio
Yuri Ferreira	...	Irmão de Roza
Álvaro Rosa Costa	...	Taxista
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Irene Brietzke	...	Mãe do Inácio (voice)
Cris Broilo	...	Sequência do celular
Renato Campão	...	Sequência do celular
Antônio Carlos Falcão	...	Homem na praia / Garçom
Alice Furtado	...	Jasmim
Julia Furtado	...	Guria do grito 1
João Mello	...	Namorado no flíper
Isabel Mozzillo	...	Guria do grito 2
Nora Prado	...	Sequência do celular
Morena Santos	...	Guria no flíper
Camila Silveira e Silva	...	Guria do grito 3

Also Known As:

Two Summers (International: English title)

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

Brazil

Language:

Portuguese

Color:

Color

Certification:

Brazil:12 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud)

Filming Locations:

Litoral do Estado, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Company:

Casa de Cinema de Porto Alegre

Soundtrack:

Let's surf

self-explaining world

I really care about Jorge Furtado's work. He is one of the most intelligent cinematic minds working today worldwide. Period. At the same time he is probably one the most not underrated but unknown creators. And there's something specially interesting about him. In 1989 he directed a most celebrated short film, "Ilha das Flores". That worked as a true manifest for his (and others) cinema. It's concentrated intentions. I love those works, when directors indicate a path, to be explored by them or others (Hitchcock did it with, in my opinion, 3 different projects, Rope, Vertigo and North by Northwest). Furtado did it with Ilha das Flores. And influenced a generation of filmmakers from Porto Alegre, Brazil. This is not the most wide known branch of Brazilian cinema (that would be the one Salles was able to publicize). But for me it's really worth attention.

Here we have the first long form in Furtado's career. And its weaknesses may come from there. His films (shorts and long) hold inside a different world. In that world we have simultaneously:

a)something that happens;

b)the explanation in detail of what is happening (and linking it to as much elements from outside that world as possible);

c)a sense of irony and self-criticism (consequently self-awareness) on that same world happening in front of us;

So this is built with self-reference, and always with intelligence. Where i think this particular project has lots of weaknesses is in the fact that the syllogistic thinking is not as clever and meaningful here as it was in say Ilha das Flores. There everything was in its perfect place, all the syllogisms were perfectly justified, sooner or later, and it fitted. Obviously the short form helps this coherent development. Also theme was quite meaningful in "ilha...". Anyway, this is the world of Furtado, and even though this isn't his strongest work (or even the strongest long film) it is still worth watching, despite the horribly lame acting and some poor aspects of production.

Nevertheless, if you can, reach "Ilha das Flores" to understand Furtado before anything else, and when you end up viewing all his movies, go back to ilha das flores. Oh and check Resnais's "Mon oncle d'Amérique" which shows where the linked thoughts started in film writing, at least in this specific form. The work of the french is not as fluid or ironic as Furtado's but he master the long form better than Furtado does here.

My evaluation: 3/5, it's still worth watching.

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