House of Sand

Three generations of women struggle to survive in Brazil’s loneliest landscape.

Brazilian director Andrucha Waddington's House of Sand is 'œa woman's picture set in a masculine—indeed, a heroic—landscape,' said James Bowman in The New York Sun. In its opening scene, the landscape dwarfs the people struggling across the wild and desolate sands of Maranhao state in Brazil's equatorial north. The year is 1910, and the little band of travelers has come more than 2,000 miles by foot and donkey. But while the men have come as a result of restless ambition, the women have come because they had no choice. The party's leader, Vasco de Sa, has dragged his unwilling and pregnant wife, Aurea, and her mother, Donna Maria, to this 'œgodforsaken place,' and then returns, quite literally, to dust himself. The women soldier on in this unforgiving world, said Carina Chocano in the Los Angeles Times. Aurea longs to go back to the city she left, but must wait until her daughter, Maria, is old enough. Dona Maria gradually accepts her new home, where she eventually dies. The 'œvisually lush' film is 'œessentially a story of things not happening,' as well as a moving study in what happens to women subjected to overwhelmingly larger forces. It's also an ideal showcase for Fernanda Torres and her real-life mother, Fernanda Montenegro, who play Aurea and Dona Maria, said Andrew O'Hehir in Salon.com. Their riveting performances alone 'œmay be more than enough reason for its existence.'

Rating: R

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us