TWO STREAMS (it should have been called THREE STREAMS) is a town lying between three streams or small rivers. As these waters converge here, so do the lives of two teenagers and one young woman on holiday at a farm here. Here in this town, these characters come into contact with a mysterious man. A strange but fascinating character, he is an illegal alien in Brazil. His presence arouses unexpected developments in the lives of all concerned, and is the backbone of the script. Probably better suited as a two part mini-series than as a feature film, TWO STREAMS nevertheless, is entertaining, and graced by fine acting by a wonderful ensemble cast. Now playing at festivals, according to what I read here.
2 Reviews
Dois córregos: memory, oppression and love
cepmc2921 August 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Carlos Reinchenbach is one of the most acclaimed and prestigious Brazilian filmmakers. Born in 1945, he started his career in the late 60's, and, in the subsequent years, remained passionately committed to artistic quality in cinema, having received several awards for his work as director, screenplay writer and cinematographer. One of his films, Dois córregos ("Two streams", 1999), represents his critical and at the same time sensitive style, developing, with a conscious emphasis on memory and temporally, two main themes: oppression and ephemeral love.
As a first step, it is useful to make a small summary of the story. The film begins in the late 90's, with the character Ana Paula returning to a country-house that was owned by her parents, but had been neglected for a long time. She had just won a legal dispute and was there to take back the possession of the house. In the midst of the sad scene of expulsion of the people that were living in the place, she starts to remember the four days she spent there, in the years of the dictatorship, when she was still a teenager. Consequently, the film is a long flashback of that time. The main characters, other than Ana Paula, are Lydia, her high school friend, Tereza, a sort of step-daughter of Isolda (Ana Paula's mother), and Ana's uncle, Hermes, who was in the country-house waiting for a chance to return legally to Brazil he was a fugitive from the government.
Memory and temporally are important factors in the construction of the narrative. There are some key moments in which they appear. The first involves Ana Paula, whose memory is the background of the whole story. Moreover, it can be seen that, although her relationship with Hermes was brief, it made a huge impact on her life. The adult Ana Paula appears in a boat talking to him as if he were there a boat like the one in which he left when he got in danger of being caught. A second moment in which memory and temporally appear is related to Hermes' relationship with his son and daughter, that he left with their mother, in an indefinite past, to follow a friend and join armed struggle. Hermes remembers his children, most of the time, in scenes in which they appear with their back turned, and even when they are seen from the front, there is either a shadow or a blinding light in their faces. The letters he writes to them, which he never sends, along with those faint memories, express his sadness and contradictory feelings of regret he left them to pursue a political ideal that led him to exile.
The theme of oppression is also an important factor in the film. Its first manifestation is the military dictatorship itself, that is felt throughout the whole film, since it is the reason Hermes is staying in the country-house. The second is also associated with military power. Tereza, in the first part of the film, is involved with the sergeant Percival, who is married and has kids. Later on, she finds out that he had other lovers and was known to like virgins. As a result, she gets mad, goes to his house and tells everything to his wife. This is when the brutality most clearly appears: he beats her badly, literally kicking her out of the house.
The theme of ephemeral love is another key element in the film. There is a scene in which Hermes tells Ana Paula about his first love Tereza's mother, that worked for his family and was forced to leave after Isolda found out what had happened. In his words, it was ephemeral, and consequently, very significant. Tereza's love for Hermes is also ephemeral it lasts only one night. In the next day, Percival comes to the house, asking for forgiveness, and Hermes makes him go away, threatening to shoot him. This makes it unsafe for Hermes to stay, so he leaves, alone, even though Tereza wanted to go with him. Ana Paula, in her turn, has a platonic love for her uncle that is the reason of the whole film, since it is all made from her memories of the ephemeral time she spent with him.
In conclusion, it can be said that, in Dois córregos, there is a close relation between memory and temporally, oppressive power and ephemerally of love. The film ends with Hermes going away in his little boat, and with Ana Paula, adult, digging up a box that Hermes had buried, containing photographs of his children and the letters that he never sent. This box represents the elements that can be seen as a summary of the film: the oppressive power that got Hermes separated from the people he loved, leaving him only with the faint memories of the ephemeral moments spent with them.
As a first step, it is useful to make a small summary of the story. The film begins in the late 90's, with the character Ana Paula returning to a country-house that was owned by her parents, but had been neglected for a long time. She had just won a legal dispute and was there to take back the possession of the house. In the midst of the sad scene of expulsion of the people that were living in the place, she starts to remember the four days she spent there, in the years of the dictatorship, when she was still a teenager. Consequently, the film is a long flashback of that time. The main characters, other than Ana Paula, are Lydia, her high school friend, Tereza, a sort of step-daughter of Isolda (Ana Paula's mother), and Ana's uncle, Hermes, who was in the country-house waiting for a chance to return legally to Brazil he was a fugitive from the government.
Memory and temporally are important factors in the construction of the narrative. There are some key moments in which they appear. The first involves Ana Paula, whose memory is the background of the whole story. Moreover, it can be seen that, although her relationship with Hermes was brief, it made a huge impact on her life. The adult Ana Paula appears in a boat talking to him as if he were there a boat like the one in which he left when he got in danger of being caught. A second moment in which memory and temporally appear is related to Hermes' relationship with his son and daughter, that he left with their mother, in an indefinite past, to follow a friend and join armed struggle. Hermes remembers his children, most of the time, in scenes in which they appear with their back turned, and even when they are seen from the front, there is either a shadow or a blinding light in their faces. The letters he writes to them, which he never sends, along with those faint memories, express his sadness and contradictory feelings of regret he left them to pursue a political ideal that led him to exile.
The theme of oppression is also an important factor in the film. Its first manifestation is the military dictatorship itself, that is felt throughout the whole film, since it is the reason Hermes is staying in the country-house. The second is also associated with military power. Tereza, in the first part of the film, is involved with the sergeant Percival, who is married and has kids. Later on, she finds out that he had other lovers and was known to like virgins. As a result, she gets mad, goes to his house and tells everything to his wife. This is when the brutality most clearly appears: he beats her badly, literally kicking her out of the house.
The theme of ephemeral love is another key element in the film. There is a scene in which Hermes tells Ana Paula about his first love Tereza's mother, that worked for his family and was forced to leave after Isolda found out what had happened. In his words, it was ephemeral, and consequently, very significant. Tereza's love for Hermes is also ephemeral it lasts only one night. In the next day, Percival comes to the house, asking for forgiveness, and Hermes makes him go away, threatening to shoot him. This makes it unsafe for Hermes to stay, so he leaves, alone, even though Tereza wanted to go with him. Ana Paula, in her turn, has a platonic love for her uncle that is the reason of the whole film, since it is all made from her memories of the ephemeral time she spent with him.
In conclusion, it can be said that, in Dois córregos, there is a close relation between memory and temporally, oppressive power and ephemerally of love. The film ends with Hermes going away in his little boat, and with Ana Paula, adult, digging up a box that Hermes had buried, containing photographs of his children and the letters that he never sent. This box represents the elements that can be seen as a summary of the film: the oppressive power that got Hermes separated from the people he loved, leaving him only with the faint memories of the ephemeral moments spent with them.
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