PREVIEW: Tabu (15)

Our Beloved Month of August writer/director Miguel Gomes returns with the engaging, provocative and poetic Tabu, set both in Portugal and in an un-named African location. Middle-aged Lisbon resident Pilar takes an interest in the final days of her apartment neighbour Aurora, an elderly woman suffering from a gambling addiction. In the wake of her death, Pilar discovers letters in the late woman's home that reveal an epic love affair from her murky past… Shot in black and white, Gomes’ third feature film is separated into two distinctive yet complementary storylines. Whilst the first part, set in the present day, portrays a society wallowing in nostalgia and features an older Aurora regretting a past long gone, the second part goes back in time and plays with history, sound, the concept of linear narration, as well as the ideas of melodrama, slapstick, passion and tragedy while a younger Aurora dreams of a more passionate life.

This is a film which sees a number of references from other films. FW Murnau's 1931 film of the same name is one, and it is suspected that Gomes may even be playfully hinting at Sydney Pollack's Out of Africa.

*it's a gem: gentle, eccentric, possessed of a distinctive sort of innocence – and also charming and funny.* The Guardian

*The critical hit of the 2012 Berlinale, Miguel Gomes’ rich, funny and poignant film is a one-of-a-kind wonder* Edinburgh Film Festival

Watch the trailer below:

Tabu is screening on: Tuesday 30th at 2pm & 7.45pm