Though Portuguese director Pedro Costa is less commonly known to ordinary moviegoers, among cinephiles he is widely admired and for his unusual body of work. His films have captivated audiences for over three decades, earning accolades and wide acclaim.
The Haunted Cinema of Pedro Costa is an exploration of Costa's oeuvre, covering his work from its beginnings with O sangue to the recent Vitalina Varela and his short film "The Daughters of Fire." Authors James Naremore and Darlene J. Sadlier offer lucid analysis that situates Costa's films within the history and culture of Portugal, explores the complexities of his artistry, illuminates his unique contribution to the cinematic canon, and provides insightful, close readings of his most seminal works.
An accessible portrait of an important figure in international film, The Haunted Cinema of Pedro Costa is an indispensable companion for scholars, cinephiles, and anyone seeking to unravel the mysteries of Costa's cinematic universe.
Arvustused
"There is no one better than James Naremore, in collaboration here with Darlene J. Sadlier, to define and explore the enigmatic artistry of Pedro Costa, the neorealist Rembrandt of Portuguese and world cinema. The authors deliver elegant prose, dry wit, searching analysis of style and substance, and an unsurpassed command of film understanding."Patrick McGilligan, author of Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light "In nuanced and richly informed analyses, James Naremore and Darlene J. Sadlier illuminate all aspects of Pedro Costa's films, proving especially insightful on atmosphere, performance, and gesture. As they write of Costa's Horse Money, the director's work has been 'more praised by critics than carefully described and analyzed.' This exhilarating book goes a long way toward correcting that imbalance."Chris Fujiwara, author of Jacques Tourneur: The Cinema of Nightfall
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Who Is He and What Is Cinema?
Part I: Early Films
O sangue (Blood, 1989)
Casa de lava (Down to Earth, 1994)
Part II: The Fontaínhas Trilogy
Ossos (Bones, 1997)
No quarto da Vanda (In Vanda's Room, 2000)
Juventude em marcha (Colossal Youth, 2006)
Part III: After Fontaínhas
Cavalo dinheiro (Horse Money, 2014)
Vitalina Varela (2019)
Part IV: Documentaries
Onde jaz o teu sorriso? (Where Does Your Hidden Smile Lie?, 2001)
Ne change rien (Change Nothing, 2009)
Part V: Exhibitions, Short Films, and a Work in Progress
Filmography
Bibliography
Index
James Naremore is Chancellors' Professor Emeritus of English, Comparative Literature, and the Media School at Indiana University Bloomington. He is author of numerous books, among them, More Than Night: Film Noir in Its Contexts; On Kubrick and Charles Burnett: A Cinema of Symbolic Knowledge. He is editor (with Patrick M. Brantlinger) of Modernity and Mass Culture. Darlene J. Sadlier is Professor Emerita of Spanish and Portuguese at Indiana University Bloomington. She is author of numerous books, most recently Memories of Underdevelopment; A Century of Brazilian Documentary Film: From Nationalism to Protest; and The Lilly Library from A to Z: Intriguing Objects in a World-Class Collection. She is editor and translator of One Hundred Years after Tomorrow: Brazilian Women's Fiction in the Twentieth Century.
