In “The Luminous Life,” Portuguese director João Rosas shows off his hometown Lisbon – but chances are, you won’t recognize it.
“It’s sentimental cartography: tourists don’t know these places, but they are important to me and to other people in the film. I wanted to show another side of the city: this is where we actually live. But if after seeing the film, someone decides to visit them, you are welcome to do it!”
For now, secret spots and sunny alleys are claimed by his protagonist Nicolau, in his 20s and directionless after a devastating breakup. Nicolau isn’t in the mood for anything, really, and questions his future as a musician. But he’s still surrounded by kindness.
“This kindness was already present in my previous films, but in this one in particular,” says Rosas ahead of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival premiere.
“I think it’s important nowadays, in the context of the world we’re living in, to enhance this kindness towards each other, our friends and strangers we pass by on the streets. Cinema, for me, is an act of kindness.”
Eager to work with non-actors – Rosas followed “Nicolau” in his previous films, too – he likes to keep things simple.
“Goethe would talk about Classic or Baroque periods. I think we’re living in very Baroque times – I mean, just look at Trump – but I’m all about Classic. I focus on what’s essential,” he laughs.
“The best way of achieving that is making sure people can connect to your characters. Even though it’s a very specific social context, white middle-class in a European country, it talks of very universal feelings or stages in life.”
He reveals: “Even during auditions I’m more interested in getting to know everybody. They tell me how they view life and how they inhabit the city, where they go, what they do. I’m just like Nicolau – I’m just there, listening. But the city – that’s always my starting point. I don’t have a car, so I just cycle and walk. I look at people in Lisbon and turn them into my characters.”
Everyone feels a bit lost in their 20s. But in “The Luminous Life,” things don’t get much easier later on, either.
“That was one of the main challenges: How to portray this moment when you are looking for your own path in life? Then again, it’s an ongoing process. All our lives, we’re asking ourselves what to do next and who we are.”
Just like Nicolau’s father, a man who used to have all the answers – until his wife left him.
“Suddenly, their roles change – he turns into a man who confesses to his son that he’s not doing well. This exchange will allow Nicolau to leave the old ghost of his relationship behind.”
Confusion and uncertainty, while heartbreaking, can also be funny, stresses Rosas, rejecting the idea of Portuguese saudade, a feeling of sadness and melancholy often described by writers.
“It’s a narrative I just don’t agree with. I’m not a sad person and I don’t see it around me. It’s a construction based on some touristic and maybe also political values, trying to explain ‘what it means to be Portuguese.’ My country can be sad, in a way that poor or post-dictatorship countries can be. But this sadness as a characteristic of people or the city… It’s not something I’m interested in.”
He adds: “I was thinking about Woody Allen, Nanni Moretti. In their films, you can look at problems that are valid and complex, sure, but find a comedic side to it. Life is doubt. Life is questioning. But I didn’t want to take things too seriously.”
What he did want, however, was to make a “talkative” film and revel in long discussions about love, work and future.
“Cinema, or art, can offer you the luxury of time. You can distance yourself from this daily urban routine where you don’t have time to be with friends, talk or think. Nicolau is passive, but that also makes him a kind character. He’s surrounded by young women and he’s not trying to conquer them. He’s absorbing their knowledge. I can’t stress this enough – It’s so important to listen to others and the stories they carry around the city.”
“I don’t want to sound too pretentious, but this idea of sharing is very important to me. When I make films, I work with other people – I’m also thinking about other people who are going to see them. I like arthouse films and I’m, I guess, an arthouse director, but I never forget cinema was born as popular art.”
“The Luminous Life” was produced by Pedro Borges for Midas Filmes and co-produced by Les Films de L’Après-Midi. Loco Films handles sales.
variety.com
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