Film Review: Araby Is The Universal Tale of The Working Class Hero
How much do we matter? In a world of excess that can only be attained by a very few; what do the rest of us do to feel like our life was remembered or worthy of remembrance? Written and directed by João Dumans and Affonso Uchôa, Araby is a universal film that shows, perhaps, it is not about how many know you compared to the wealth of wisdom your life can offer.
By all means, in this world, Cristiano’s life would be deemed “forgettable”. He is a poor factory worker with a history of odd jobs, a poetical talent for music, and a love life that, like many of us, he could not quite master. Yet, the key words of that statement is “like many of us”. Most of us feel like our “lowliness”, particularly in terms of political, social, and economic class, makes us insignificant. Yet, as a teenage boy named Andre uncovers the diaries, documents, and overall trinkets of Cristiano’s life, you realize how much a nation’s trajectory through time affects its individual people.
Brazil has an economy, that like the U.S., is divided in two: the 1% and then the 99%. Yet, Cristiano is the lowliest of the 99%; an ex-prisoner crisscrossing through the country to find odd jobs and a sense of meaning. Through him, you witness a picturesque nation with a lot of inner turmoil. From picking fruit to chiseling the earth, De Sousa’s Cristiano does it all to “get ahead” but never does. Hence, why he feels like “you” maneuvering through the screen. In some ways, you understand why Andre (played like a curious, bright youth by Murilo Caliari) grows enraptured by the letters and notes of Cristiano’s life: he reads like a character from one of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s masterworks, which, in a way, we all are a good person trying hard and constantly failing.
Leonardo Feliciano’s cinematography is STUNNING, and adds a layer heavenliness to a story that feels, literally, grimed by struggle. In life, everyone wants to move up, but not many of us have access to “the ladder”: both spiritually and literally. Life is hard, and then, you add on, that you have to love yourself and others, and it simply seems near impossible. Aristides de Sousa as Cristiano shows this truth with such a raw sensibility that, in essence, he does not feel like an actor or character. He feels, at least, like your neighbor; he simply too interpersonal and intimate to be a stranger or a false protagonist.
You get enraptured by the simplicity of de Sousa’s performance as a man that gives so much to get more but always manages to get so little. Yet, with each “failure’ he gains wisdom and a new lesson on human interaction. Through the laughs, fights, and advice he gets from fellow laborers, and the brisk, eruptive romance he has with Renata Cabral’s Ana, Cristiano becomes a folk hero of sorts; sifting through his country in hopes that, in finding how its beats, he will see his own heart. Araby Plays In Theaters in both NYC And LA on June 22.
