MovieChat Forums > Abril Despedaçado (2002) Discussion > Symbolism

Symbolism

posted 15 years ago by kayleyroberts
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What symbolism do you see in this film?

At one point Tonho spins Clara around on a rope for what seems like hours (it goes from day to night so I assume a long time passed). What was the significance of this?
Do you think Pacu's mermaid story is acted out in the film, and if so which one of them is the boy and which is the mermaid?

I know that one of Salles' other films, Central do Brazil, contains an abundance of religious symbolism (the names of the characters, the pilgrimage to find Jesus etc) but Behind the Sun seems bereft of any of this type of symbolism.
What did eveyone else think?

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] mariotomchev 15 years ago

Symbolism and suchlike things I've just found while watching it for the first time now:

- The names Stream of Souls and Ventura. "The stream dried up. Only the souls remain."
- A blind man which is TRULY blind. "Do you hear that clock? Each time it ticks one more, one more, one more. To you it will be telling one less, one less, one less."
- "The oxen are going 'round on their own!" The whole cattle stuff was pretty obvious metaphor about Tonio.
- "Were you born dead or alive?"
- "In this house, the dead command the living."
- The rope as an object of hidden and safe declaration of the impossible /at least up until that moment/ love.
- The cradle scene as a turning point: last moment of real happiness for the whole family. Plus the very important phrase: "You take my place, I'll take yours."
- The rain as consumption of the feelings: as if it wasn't "rainy season"...
- Tonio leaving his home NOT a revenger nor as a dead man. Remember how before that he left similar home precisely as such.
- The path he ultimately chose: the "RIGHT" one.

Overwhelming film, really.

I'm a broke leg pony that's winning the race.._

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] carddealt 15 years ago

Not to mention the returning motif of 'flight' through the use of the swing, and the circus rope. Flight in movies often connotates a freedom, or a character's wish for freedom.

Similarly, water tends to mean 'life' and / or 'beginnings'. The rain for example could be seen to cleanse the bad blood that has lasted centuries between the two families, so a new chapter can begin. The sea, as in many movies, can be seen to offer new beginings and endless possibilites for new life. This is a little more flexible, as Takeshi Kitano tends to use the sea as a motif for death or endings, but in this case the idea of cleansing and it's connotations with baptism perhaps seems appropriate.

More obviously, story telling in movies tends to refer to a longing for escape or for change. By Pacu having his book taken away, his father is killing his dreams and desires, much as you wouldn't want to become too attatched to a terminally ill animal, and Pacu doesn't have the strength or the will (for he knows his future that the feud will bring) to create a story without external influences to guide him.

I am going to begin today with a headstand...Diane, I am now upside-down