Mark Reviews Movies: VITALINA VARELA

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Review by Mark Dujsik | March 26, 2020

At a certain point in Vitalina Varela, one may notice that the sky has been absent. This is a film that lives among concrete buildings and alleyways, as well as upon faces. Director Pedro Costa essentially removes any sign of the outside world from his film, except for a few scenes that primarily serve to remind us that there is a world beyond the one on display.

The same can be said of light. There is light here, coming through the windows during the day and from streetlights at night. Its presence only emphasizes how dark this place, an impoverished neighborhood in Lisbon, is. This is a world of shadows, occupied by people whose minds are filled with the shadows of grief, regret, and hopelessness.

Its main figure is the eponymous Vitalina Varela, played by the actress of the same name, and as one might expect, the story is biographical. It recounts Varela arriving in the capital city of Portugal from her home in Cape Verde, following the death of her husband. She hasn't seen the man in decades, since he left their small home among the mountains to chase women and to build a new home in Lisbon. He never got that far. The house is decrepit and falling apart.

Vitalina meets assorted people along the way. They include a priest (played by Ventura), who moved here after a tragedy he believes he caused, and some of her husband's friends, whose misery and nosiness gives her an idea of what her spouse's life must have been like.

There isn't much in terms of plot here. Through long takes of fairly ordinary events, Costa's primary goal is to exist with Vitalina, as the character bears witness to the existence her husband chose over her and tries to understand that decision, and with Varela, as the actor recreates her own lived experiences for the camera.

Knowing this, we comprehend how daring the central performance is. Watching as Costa evades any kind of narrative artifice, we realize how daring the filmmaking is as a portrait of an all-enveloping mood.

With its naturalistic performances and its precise compositions, Vitalina Varela remains engrossing, even though it's difficult to say that anything substantial happens in this story. That's beside the point, though. Grief and regret are experienced, not as a story, but as a part of life running its normal course.

Note: Following a limited theatrical release, Vitalina Varela will be available to watch online through Grasshopper Film's website. You can choose to support a local independent theater with your rental purchase. Half of proceeds from the rental will go to the theater and its staff. For more information and to access the film, click here.

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