The Dog's Will
O Auto da Compadecida
dir. Guel Arraes
Brazil, 2000 - 95
The script for this sophisticated comedy is based upon a play written by Ariano Suassuna in 1955. The film was shot in northeastern Brazil where the original play was set. The story form is clearly based on the historic Spain-originated picaresque tale, an early kind of novel about the adventures of a mischievous, sharp-witted rogue struggling to survive as he drifts through various social classes. "The Dog's Will" describes the comic adventures of Joao Grilo and Chicó. Joao Grilo is a shrewd native fighting for his everyday bread. He is the centrepiece of amusing episodes, giving rise to many imbroglios as he deceives rich and influential personages together with his boon companion Chicó. Depicted as picaresque characters, Joao Grilo and Chicó face different characteristic north-eastern types and incarnations of the Devil, Jesus Christ and Our Lady (Fernanda Montenegro, known from "Central do Brasil", here resembles Giulietta Masino in the late stages of her career).
"Using the original as a guideline, we found out so many references to the culture of the Middle Ages and early Renascence that came to Brazil, become Brazilian and remains more present here than in Europe. We also resorted to popular theatre traditions, such as picaresque characters, which is also present in Commedia dell'arte, in Spanish classics such as Don Quixote, and in Moliere's servants. The search for a "medieval North-east" also guided art direction, costumes and photography." Guel Arraes
Great fun, this film swings merrily between comedy and tears, while its humanist philosophy seems present in every scene.
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