Carol Duarte in ‘Invisible Life’.
Directed by: Karim Aïnouz
Screenplay by: Murilo Hauser, Inés Bortagaray and Karim Aïnouz,
Based on “The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmäo by: Martha Batalha
Starring: Carol Duarte, Julia Stockler, Gregorio Duvivier, Barbara Santos, Favlia Gusmäo
Reflecting on the themes present in “The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmäo,” one cannot help but think of the proverb, “blood is thicker than water.”
Set in the 1950’s, Karim Aïnouz’s story of two sisters who spent their lives separately thinking the other was living their dreams. Fueled in part by repression and bigotry, the Un Certain Regard selection of the 2019 Cannes Film Festival and Brazil’s entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards is as vivid as the lives it depicts.
Based on the novel by Martha Batalha, Euridice (Duarte) and Guida (Stockler) Gusmäo are two sisters whose dreams and aspirations leave them pining into the unknown future. What is known is that their father Antenor (Gregorio Duvivier), a butcher is a man of pride. He wants to see his daughters grow up and instead, after being insulted by Guida, tears the family apart.
Aïnouz’s direction is taut throughout as he depicts two sisters madly in love with their dreams and determined to set their paths. The two sisters’ separation is just as emotional as the film’s conclusion. Revealing it here would dismiss the happenings throughout the rest of the story as Euridice lives a life of trying to reconnect with her sister.
The attempt is deftly handled through years of letter writing on the part of Guida, whose guilt, shame and remorse are felt with every word. Remorse quickly turns to desperation as the months turn into years. Julia Stockler’s performance is heart wrenching to watch unfold as she learns to cope with a father who does not want her and a sister that she cannot physically connect with.
Carol Duarte’s performance is just as beautiful as she too hopes to connect with her sister. Instead, she has a family. She is first a loving mother and then a giving grandmother, something their parents never gave them.
Just as the letters offer context, Aïnouz injects several opportunities for the two sisters to connect. Hélène Louvart’s cinematography is both vivacious and sumptuous while revealing small, intimate details that convey the interconnectedness of the two sisters despite the distance between the two, offering a balance that keeps us guessing as to what will happen next. Color is an important aspect of Louvart’s visual style, conveying the emotional aspects of each sister’s individual lives.
Karim Aïnouz’s “The Invisible Life of Eurdice Gusmäo” is an elegant and emotional look fueled by the performances, the colors, music and the sounds of life simply happening in front of our eyes. The two sisters could not be closer in spite of their distance, but Aïnouz reminds us that blood is indeed thicker than water.
3.75 out of 4 stars
