Matt's Movie Reviews logo
Custom Search
AWFUL
POOR
GOOD
EXCELLENT
MASTERPIECE
*
**
***
****
*****
iTunes subscribes
Youtube image
tabu poster

CAST
CARLOTTA COTTA
TERESA MADRUGA
ANA MOREIRA
ISABEL MUNOZ CARDOSO
MANUEL MESQUITA
IVO MULLER
HENRIQUE ESPIRITO SANTO
LAURA SOVERAL

WRITTEN BY
MIGUEL GOMES
MARIANA RICARDO

PRODUCED BY
SANDRO AGUILAR
LUIS URBANO

DIRECTED BY
MIGUEL GOMES

GENRE
DRAMA
ROMANCE

RATED
AUS: NA
UK: NA
USA: NA

RUNNING TIME
110 MIN

 

TABU (2012)

A film of artistic poise and mesmerizing narrative, Tabu will sweep viewers away in its story of a passionate love affair in the jungles of Africa.

With his third feature film Miguel Gomes has proven himself to be a director in complete control of his artistic vision no matter how farfetched. Take Tabu: a black and white film, split into two parts, with the second featuring no audible dialogue save for the hypnotic narration that lasts for almost an hour.

But don’t let that description give the impression that Tabu is a film only for the art house crowd. Love, passion, friendship, betrayal…these elements and more make Tabu a film sure to resonate with everyone. It’s a human story, but one told with an eccentric sensibility.

The first part of the film focuses on Pilar (Teresa Madruga) a retiree of Catholic devotion, whose days are spent dealing with the problems of her friends, especially elderly neighbour Aurora (Laura Soveral) who has a bad habit of spending her pension at the casino and drowning her sorrows in anti-depressants.

It is Aurora’s life fifty years prior in the (fictional) African village of Mozambique, Mount Tabu where the second art of the film takes place and focuses on a young and very much married Aurora’s (Ana Moerira) affair with handsome vagabond Gian Luca Ventura (Carlotta Cotta).

While films about torrid love affairs in exotic locales are a dime a dozen, Gomes makes his an altogether different creature filled with smouldering passion where sweet nothing are uttered yet never heard, and a quirky vibe adds different shades of grey to its black and white such as the left field soundtrack choices of pop rock classics such as “Be My Baby” by Les Surfs and “Love is Strange” by Mickey and Sylvia.

What stand out the most are the different methods Gomes uses to distinguish his two parts. The first set in modern day Lisbon, Portugal features Gomes taking a more patient approach, holding his shots on moments of reflection and purging, such as a mass monologue by Aurora who describes a dream with vivid detail. The second (and superior) part is quicker in its pacing, more playful with it visuals and features a voice over narration that plays the part of guide and confessor.

Although different in style, both parts make for an extremely satisfying whole and showcases Gomes as a director not afraid to meld the artistic with the melodramatic, and melancholy with love, making Tabu a stirring and confident piece of cinema.

****

 

 

  RELATED CONTENT  
Attenberg poster
Attenberg
film review
Amelie poster
Amelie
film review
Delicatessen poster
Delicatessen
film review

 

 

Created and Edited by Matthew Pejkovic / Contact: mattsm@mattsmoviereviews.net
Logo created by Colony Graphic Design / Copyright © Matthew Pejkovic

Twitter logo
Facebook logo
    Youtube
Matthew Pejkovic is a member of the following organizations:
AFCA logo