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Behind the Sun (film)
Encyclopedia
Behind the Sun is a 2001 Brazil
ian film directed by Walter Salles
, produced by Arthur Cohn
, and starring Rodrigo Santoro
. Its original Portuguese title means Shattered April, and it is based on the novel of the same name
(original Albanian
title: Prill i Thyer) written by the Albania
n writer Ismail Kadare
, about the honor culture in the North of Albania.
, the Breves. He is next in line to kill and then die in an ongoing blood feud with a neighboring clan, the Ferreiras. For generations, the two families have quarreled over land. Now they are locked into a series of tit-for-tat assassinations of their sons; an eye-for-an-eye, a tooth-for-a-tooth. Embedded in this choreography of death is a particular code of ethics: "Blood has the same volume for everyone. You have no right to take more blood than was taken from you." Life is suffused with a sense of futility and stoic despair.
Under pressure from his father, Tonho kills one of the Ferreira sons to avenge the murder of his older brother. This act marks him as the next victim. Tonho's younger brother is addressed only as "the Kid" by the family. Anticipating future loss, his parents don't give him a name. The Kid is an imaginative and loving child, whose spirit will not break in the face of harsh parenting, brutalizing isolation, and numbing poverty. The Kid's love encourages Tonho to question his fate. When Tonho meets Clara, a charming itinerant circus girl, all of life's possibilities open up for him.
Golden Globe Awards
Havana Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian film directed by Walter Salles
Walter Salles
Walter Moreira Salles, Jr. is a Brazilian filmmaker and film producer of international prominence.-Life and career:Salles was born in Rio de Janeiro. He is the son of Elizinha Goncalves and Walter Moreira Salles, a Brazilian banker and ambassador, and the brother of João Moreira Salles, also a...
, produced by Arthur Cohn
Arthur Cohn
Arthur Cohn is a film producer.Six of his films have won the Academy Award for Best Documentary, and he was awarded the Guardian of Zion Award in 2004...
, and starring Rodrigo Santoro
Rodrigo Santoro
Rodrigo Junqueira dos Reis Santoro is a Brazilian actor.-Life and career:Santoro was born in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro. He is of half Brazilian and half Italian descent. In 1993, as Santoro was studying Journalism at PUC-Rio, he entered the Actor's Workshop of Rede Globo...
. Its original Portuguese title means Shattered April, and it is based on the novel of the same name
Broken April
Broken April is a novel by award winning Albanian author Ismail Kadare. Published in 1978, the book explores one of Kadare's recurring themes; how the past affects the present....
(original Albanian
Albanian language
Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...
title: Prill i Thyer) written by the Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
n writer Ismail Kadare
Ismail Kadare
Ismail Kadare is an Albanian writer. He is known for his novels, although he was first noticed for his poetry collections. In the 1960s he focused on short stories until the publication of his first novel, The General of the Dead Army. In 1996 he became a lifetime member of the Academy of Moral...
, about the honor culture in the North of Albania.
Plot
The year is 1910; the place, the badlands of Northeast Brazil. Twenty-year-old Tonho is the middle son of an impoverished farm familyFamily
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
, the Breves. He is next in line to kill and then die in an ongoing blood feud with a neighboring clan, the Ferreiras. For generations, the two families have quarreled over land. Now they are locked into a series of tit-for-tat assassinations of their sons; an eye-for-an-eye, a tooth-for-a-tooth. Embedded in this choreography of death is a particular code of ethics: "Blood has the same volume for everyone. You have no right to take more blood than was taken from you." Life is suffused with a sense of futility and stoic despair.
Under pressure from his father, Tonho kills one of the Ferreira sons to avenge the murder of his older brother. This act marks him as the next victim. Tonho's younger brother is addressed only as "the Kid" by the family. Anticipating future loss, his parents don't give him a name. The Kid is an imaginative and loving child, whose spirit will not break in the face of harsh parenting, brutalizing isolation, and numbing poverty. The Kid's love encourages Tonho to question his fate. When Tonho meets Clara, a charming itinerant circus girl, all of life's possibilities open up for him.
Cast
- José DumontJosé DumontJosé Dumont is a Brazilian TV and movie actor, best known for his role as the family father in Behind the Sun , an award-winning film of director Walter Salles...
as the father - Rodrigo SantoroRodrigo SantoroRodrigo Junqueira dos Reis Santoro is a Brazilian actor.-Life and career:Santoro was born in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro. He is of half Brazilian and half Italian descent. In 1993, as Santoro was studying Journalism at PUC-Rio, he entered the Actor's Workshop of Rede Globo...
as Tonho, the eldest son - Rita Assemany as the Mother
- Ravi Ramos Lacerda as Pacu
- Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos as Salustiano
- Flávia Marco Antonio as Clara
- Everaldo Pontes as Old Blind Man
- Caio Junqueira as Inácio
- Mariana Loureiro as Widow
- Servilio De Holanda as Isaías
- Wagner MouraWagner MouraWagner Maniçoba Moura is a Brazilian film, television and stage actor. Moura graduated in journalism at Universidade Federal da Bahia but decided to become an actor....
as Matheus - Othon BastosOthon BastosOthon Bastos is a Brazilian film actor. He has appeared in 50 films since 1962.-Selected filmography:-External links:...
as Mr. Lourenço - Gero Camilo as Reginaldo
- Vinícius de OliveiraVinícius de OliveiraVinícius de Oliveira is a Brazilian actor.He was born in Rio de Janeiro. He lived in Bonsucesso, Rio de Janeiro with his mother, who had to work hard to support him and his three siblings. To make ends meet, he even started working as a shoe shiner, always dreaming of becoming a professional...
as "the Kid"
Awards and nominations
BAFTA Film Awards- Best Film Not in the English LanguageBAFTA Award for Best FilmThis page lists the winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Film, BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language and Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film for each year, in addition to the retired earlier versions of those awards...
– Arthur CohnArthur CohnArthur Cohn is a film producer.Six of his films have won the Academy Award for Best Documentary, and he was awarded the Guardian of Zion Award in 2004...
and Walter SallesWalter SallesWalter Moreira Salles, Jr. is a Brazilian filmmaker and film producer of international prominence.-Life and career:Salles was born in Rio de Janeiro. He is the son of Elizinha Goncalves and Walter Moreira Salles, a Brazilian banker and ambassador, and the brother of João Moreira Salles, also a...
(nominated)
Golden Globe Awards
- Best Foreign Language FilmGolden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language FilmThe Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the awards presented at the Golden Globes, an American film awards ceremony.Until 1986, it was known as the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, meaning that any non-American film could be honoured...
(nominated)
Havana Film Festival
Havana Film Festival
The Havana Film Festival is a Cuban festival that focuses on the promotion of Spanish-language filmmakers. It is also known in Spanish as Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana, and in English as Festival of New Latinamerican Cinema of La Havana.The festival takes place...
- Best Director – Walter Salles (won)
- House of the Americas Award – Walter Salles (won)
Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
- Little Golden Lion – Arthur Cohn and Walter Salles (won)
- Golden Lion – Walter Salles (nominated)