Screened as part of NZIFF 2008

Mutum 2007

Directed by Sandra Kogut

A shy, uncannily philosophical country boy's view of a confused grown-up world is rendered with great charm and sensitivity in this beautiful film from Brazil.

Brazil / France In Portuguese with English subtitles
82 minutes 35mm

Director

Screenplay

Ana Luiza Martins Costa
,
Sandra Kogut. Based on the novel Campo Geral by João Guimarães Rosa

Photography

Mauro Pinheiro Jr

Editor

Sérgio Mekler

Music

Jaime Além
,
Moreno Veloso

With

Thiago Da Silva Mariz
,
Rômulo Braga
,
Wallison Felipe Leal Barroso
,
Maria Juliana Souza Oliveira

Festivals

Cannes (Directors' Fortnight), Toronto, London, Pusan 2007; Rotterdam 2008

Elsewhere

"Minas Gerais in Brazil provides the fascinating setting for this resonant tale of how one very unordinary child attempts to make sense of the world (and adults) around him. Shy, sensitive and usually untalkative ('mutum' can mean 'mute'), ten-year-old Thiago spends the days on his family's isolated farm trying to figure out what on earth his parents and other adults are up to. His kindly mother and abusive father seem barely compatible and their relationship turns for the worse once a mysterious event forces the boy's uncle off the farm... Based upon the famous Brazilian novel Campo Geral by João Guimarães Rosa, Mutum features an astonishing performance by the young Thiago da Silva Mariz as our pint-sized philosopher, a child wise beyond his years." — San Francisco International Film Festival. The children are compelling subjects, and Thiago is completely affecting in the central role. He carries the whole film with astounding poise. I was captivated. — SR