BFI London Film Festival: Araby

BFI Film Festival: 243 features. 67 countries. 15 cinemas. 12 days. One Festival.

The poetics of the everyday are given a new slant in this tender, intelligent film from Brazilian filmmakers João Dumans and Affonso Uchôa.

When the teenage André is called to the home of his neighbour Cristiano, he stumbles on a notebook that details an extraordinary life journey. And with this discovery comes a shift in tone, as Araby moves from the social realist world of André and his family to Cristiano’s nomadic life – securing work where he can across different towns and cities.

Araby is in many ways a road movie, but one marked by a fascination with storytelling – what it means to attempt to narrate both a life and the conditions in which it is lived. With a country-infused score, nods to James Joyce and Robert Bresson, this is an unpredictable, singular film about creativity and the possibilities it allows for making sense of the world. 

(Notes by Maria Delgado)

Araby, dir. Affonso Uchôa and João Dumans, Brazil 2017, 96min

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