Thursday 22 November 2012

A Cadeira do Pai / Father’s Chair / La Chaise de Papa by / par Luciano Moura


 
{reviewed by Nancy Snipper}
Theo and his wife Branca are arguing terribly. Theo still loves his wife and does not accept the divorce she wants. Their 15-year-old son Pedro enters the house to hear the rage. The only bright thing in this cauldron of anger is the arrival of a new chair – a present for Pedro from his grandfather – Theo’s father – but Theo proceeds to smash it. His fury escalates when he sees his wife does not agree with sending their son away against his will to New Zealand to continue his studies. Pedro disappears one day, and Theo sets out to find him. He discovers Pedro has rented a black horse. The search takes Theo on his own journey across two states in Brazil. During this journey, he rides a motorcycle, steals a phone, attends a beach party where he helps a mother give birth, and gets into a fight with a farmer. He travels in his car, on foot, even ends up in a field and on a stationary boat – all because he is tracking his son down to bring him home. We watch the slow unraveling of a man who madly loves his son. In searching Pedro’s bedroom, she discovers her son draws horses, and has been illustrating letters sent to him by his grandfather. Pedro is a great artist. He in fact is staying at his grandfather’s house. Theo finds him and reconciles in an instant with Pedro along with his own father whom he hasn’t seen in years. The film starts out in a compelling manner, but Theo’s search lags into boredom for us. We want him to find his son, not because we care, but because we want the film to finish.

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