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Brazil, France · 2016
2h 27m
Director Kleber Mendonça Filho
Starring Sônia Braga, Maeve Jinkings, Irandhir Santos, Humberto Carrão
Genre Drama
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Clara, a 65-year-old widow, is the last resident of the Aquarius, a long-standing two-story building in the upper-class, seaside Boa Viagem Avenue. Her neighbors have sold off their property to a development company, who plans to build a new edifice. Alone, but emboldened, Clara must battle this incredibly persistent company.
Its languid pace befits the Recife setting, and Filho sets many scenes on long walks down the coast or just after a particularly satisfying mid-day nap. His world is filled with music, dance and wine, and if the film takes a some time to get where it’s going, the beachfront setting remains a pleasant place to stay. Call it an escapist tale about stubbornly staying put.
Though Braga's performance sometimes outshines Mendonça's leisurely two-and-a-half hour narrative, in its better moments the two work in marvelous harmony.
Time Out London by Geoff Andrew
The virtue of Aquarius – the title, incidentally, alludes to the name of the block Clara lives in – is that it never feels the need to sermonise: its ethical, political and psychological insights are carefully contained within a consistently compelling narrative that feels fluid, relevant and true.
The Film Stage by Giovanni Marchini Camia
Clara is the film’s heroine and Braga deserves high praise for her phenomenal performance. Stately, headstrong, and all-too-recognizably human, she’s a delight to watch from start to finish, keeping the viewer mesmerized by her charisma and intensely rooting for her victory.
Aquarius is a character study as well as a shrewd meditation on the needless transience of place and the way physical space elides with our identity.
Braga is simply riveting in this gift of a role.
The Hollywood Reporter by Jordan Mintzer
This endearing old-age drama works best as an earnest and colorful character study, even if it doesn't really break any new cinematic ground.
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
It’s a richly detailed character study, immersing the audience in the life and mind of its imperious main character.
The Telegraph by Robbie Collin
Braga has been presented with an uncommonly dense and multi-faceted role here, and she plunges into it with a kind of glossy-maned, leonine majesty, investing the character with a hard-won dignity that often has you stifling a cheer, but also exploring her flaws in gripping fashion.
Screen International by Wendy Ide
Favouring an unhurried pace, Filho takes the time to let us get to know Clara. And while the moments of drama are small and intimate, the effect is engrossing.
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