Monday, January 16, 2017

Great Moments in Movie Shelves #89

.
I finally got to see Aquarius with Sonia Braga this weekend since it finally went up onto Netflix and I can't recommend it highly enough. Braga's fantastic and the film as a whole takes her lead - it's smart and sexy and immensely satisfying. I wish I'd gotten out to see it in the theaters, but now none of us has got any excuse. But speaking of the "sexy"...

... there's a sex-scene at the midpoint of the film that's set against the backdrop of Braga's character Clara's exquisite bookshelves (so great they got a shout-out at The Film Experience as one of 2016's "Most Coveted Things") that really screamed out for MNPP coverage. Oh and it's a NSFW (not to mention somewhat spoilery) so let's take it all after the jump...

... so at the midway point of the movie Clara calls a hooker named Paolo that her lawyer recommended and he's played by Allan Souza Lima, and good god he's pretty. Here's a picture of him outside of the movie:

I hope you give your lawyer a great big bonus, Clara! Anyway he comes over and they make very little small talk and then it's off to the races.And then some.

I mean, look at those shelves.
Can ya beat those shelves?

Anyway before I just dump a bunch of pictures from this scene I do want to note how strange (in a good way) I found the way it's shot - the camera focuses almost entirely on the dude the entire time. Look at how he's introduced:

The camera just stares right at his crotch. And the entire sex scene that follows the camera watches his face - we see very little of Clara the whole time. Part of me at first felt like it might be focusing on his pleasure too much, but the more I stare at it the more I realize that it's about putting us into Clara's shoes - the film's objectifying him; we are watching him because Clara is watching him. Lucky girl.








That last shot is probably my favorite shot of the whole movie - for one, the shelves are there. But it's also simultaneously sexy and funny, the way his knees are bobbing in and out; for all the tension this movie effortlessly builds it never loses sight of small human moments like this that make its story-telling so particular and fine.
.

No comments: