Our Beloved Month of August

Aquele Querido Mês de Agosto

(Portugal, 2008, 147 mins)

35mm

Wisconsin Premiere

writer: Miguel Gomes, Mariana Ricardo
cinematographer: Rui Poças
editor: Miguel Gomes, Churro, Miguel Gomes
art director: Bruno Duarte
costume designer: Mariana Ricardo
producer: Sandro Aguilar , Luís Urbano
production company: O Som E A Fúria, Shellac
cast: Sónia Bandeira, Fábio Oliveira, Joaquim Carvalho

• IMDB Film Info

In a remote Portuguese mountain town, a music festival is under way. Karaoke-sounding bands play to nearly empty fields, village elders swap tall tales, teens sunbathe and flirt, and a procrastinating film crew lazes about, collecting documentary footage with no clear end in sight. But as the film edges along, a narrative slowly blossoms, and the puzzle pieces begin falling into place. Locations, songs, and characters from the documentary are recast as echoes of their former selves: townspeople are reincarnated as members of a family band, incestuous subplots emerge. Was the first half research for the second half? Is truth a rehearsal for fiction — or is it the other way around? This one-of-a-kind diptych probes the intersection of documentary and narrative, suggesting that story and reality are actually parallel echoes of one another. Ravishingly photographed and brilliantly assembled, Our Beloved Month of August is a travelogue to get lost in, an indigenous film created by tourists. It’s also a fascinating window into the filmmaking process that you’ll continue to unlock long after the credits roll. “Absolutely the best film of 2008.” — Adrian Martin, Rouge. 2008 Cannes; winner, Critics Award, 2008 São Paulo; winner, Critics Award and Best Film, Valdivia International Film Festival.

Sponsored By:

UW Center for European Studies

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