Arabian Nights blends fable, grim reality
Arabian Nights
(out of 4) Starring Crista Alfaiate, Carlotto Cotta. Co-written and directed by Miguel Gomes. 381 minutes. Opens Friday at TIFF Bell Lightbox. Unrated. There are no magic carpets per se although there is plenty of fantasy, folklore and fable in Portuguese director Miguel Gomes’ epic-length three-part tale.
Gomes is filmed running away from the camera in the first part, setting the stage for the cheeky, irreverent tone that follows.
But there’s a serious subtext as Gomes makes clear from the outset, that while he’s borrowing from the structure of the classic collection of tales also known as One Thousand and One Nights, the three films are squarely aimed at a national government “devoid of social justice” as it strives to comply with the austerity dictates of the European Union.
Volume 1: The Restless One begins with the closing of a major shipbuilding yard and the impacts it’s had on the livelihood of once-proud workers.
From there, Gomes embarks on a series of stories that often blend ordinary lives with sharp social satire. In fact, it’s often difficult to differentiate between actors and regular people.
The plight of local honeybees facing extermination from foreign hornets and the efforts of a neighbour to silence a noisy rooster act as metaphors for the misery thrust upon ordinary citizens.
All three films are about two hours long, so prepare yourself for a heartfelt but quirky marathon that engages and occasionally beguiles in Volume 1 and Volume 2: The Desolate One, although Volume 3: The Enchanted One feels unnecessarily laborious and self-indulgent.
The pace is leisurely throughout, the camera work stellar and some of the stories are genuinely affecting. But Gomes’ arcane storytelling style and frequent use of absurdity will require a good deal of patience from filmgoers.