José and Pilar
Encyclopedia
José and Pilar is a Portuguese documentary directed by Miguel Gonçalves Mendes
following the last years of the Nobel Prize winner José Saramago
, chiefly through his relationship with his resolute wife, Pilar del Río. Highly praised by the critics and the audience, the film seems to have accomplished to show the tenderness, the genuine integrity and the deeply concerned humanity behind such controversial figure and his spouse. It gathers sequences from Madrid
to Helsinki
to Rio de Janeiro
and covers Jose and Pilar's life in Lanzarote
, their trips around the world (presenting José's books, signing autographs, making speeches) and their most simple, transient and quotidian moments, as for during the period José writes his "The Elephant's Journey
". The film was produced by Miguel Mendes' JumpCut (Portugal), Fernando Meirelles
's O2 and Pedro Almodóvar
's El Deseo
.
Miguel Gonçalves Mendes
Miguel Gonçalves Mendes is a Portuguese film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He has directed four feature films and eight short films since 2002, a filmography that took him to renowned film festivals around the globe...
following the last years of the Nobel Prize winner José Saramago
José Saramago
José de Sousa Saramago, GColSE was a Nobel-laureate Portuguese novelist, poet, playwright and journalist. His works, some of which can be seen as allegories, commonly present subversive perspectives on historic events, emphasizing the human factor. Harold Bloom has described Saramago as "a...
, chiefly through his relationship with his resolute wife, Pilar del Río. Highly praised by the critics and the audience, the film seems to have accomplished to show the tenderness, the genuine integrity and the deeply concerned humanity behind such controversial figure and his spouse. It gathers sequences from Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
to Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
to Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
and covers Jose and Pilar's life in Lanzarote
Lanzarote
Lanzarote , a Spanish island, is the easternmost of the autonomous Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 125 km off the coast of Africa and 1,000 km from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering 845.9 km2, it stands as the fourth largest of the islands...
, their trips around the world (presenting José's books, signing autographs, making speeches) and their most simple, transient and quotidian moments, as for during the period José writes his "The Elephant's Journey
The Elephant's Journey
The Elephant's Journey is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning author José Saramago. It was first published in 2008.-Plot:In 1551, King João III of Portugal gave Archduke Maximilian an unusual wedding present: an elephant named Solomon. The elephant’s journey from Lisbon to Vienna was witnessed and...
". The film was produced by Miguel Mendes' JumpCut (Portugal), Fernando Meirelles
Fernando Meirelles
Fernando Ferreira Meirelles is a Brazilian film director, producer and screenwriter.He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director in 2004 for his work in the Brazilian film City of God, released in 2002 in Brazil and in 2003 in the U.S. by Miramax Films...
's O2 and Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar Caballero is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer.Almodóvar is arguably the most successful and internationally known Spanish filmmaker of his generation. His films, marked by complex narratives, employ the codes of melodrama and use elements of pop culture, popular...
's El Deseo
El Deseo
El Deseo is film production company owned by Spanish film producers the Almodóvar brothers . Films produced by the company include All About My Mother, Talk to Her, My Life Without Me, Bad Education, Volver, Broken Embraces and The Skin I Live In.- External links :* Film production company owned...
.
Plot
« "The Elephant's Journey", in which Saramago narrates the adventures and antics of an elephant transported from the court of King John III of Portugal to that of the Austrian Archduke Maximillian, is the starting point of José and Pilar. It shows us their daily life in Lanzarote and their trips around the globe. It is a surprising portrayal of an author throughout the creative process of a couple decided to change the world, or at least to make it a better place. It shows us an hidden Saramago, unravels any preconceived ideas we may have about the man and proves that genius and simplicity are indeed compatible. José and Pilar is a glimpse into one of the greatest creators of the Twentieth Century and shows us that, as Saramago said, "everythin can be told in a different way".» (in JumpCut)Cast
- José SaramagoJosé SaramagoJosé de Sousa Saramago, GColSE was a Nobel-laureate Portuguese novelist, poet, playwright and journalist. His works, some of which can be seen as allegories, commonly present subversive perspectives on historic events, emphasizing the human factor. Harold Bloom has described Saramago as "a...
, writer (Nobel Prize winner in Literary, 1998). - Pilar del Río, journalist.
- Gael García BernalGael García BernalGael García Bernal is a Mexican film actor and director.-Early life:García Bernal was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, the son of Patricia Bernal, an actress and former model, and José Ángel García, an actor and director. His stepfather is Sergio Yazbek, whom his mother married when García Bernal was...
, actor. - Fernando MeirellesFernando MeirellesFernando Ferreira Meirelles is a Brazilian film director, producer and screenwriter.He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director in 2004 for his work in the Brazilian film City of God, released in 2002 in Brazil and in 2003 in the U.S. by Miramax Films...
, filmmaker.
Accomplishments and nominations
- Five months in the portuguese theaters (historical maximum).
- The first Portuguese film co-produced with internationally high ranked film production companies (O2 and El Deseio).
- First Portuguese film to ever open the International Documentary Film Festival of Lisbon (DocLisboa) (2010).
- The Portuguese (Portugal) film with the widest distribution and the largest audience to ever premiere in Brazil.
- One of the greatests word-to-mouth successes of the 2010 Rio de Janeiro Film Festival (world premiere), among three hundred other films.
- Opened the Ronda International Political Cinema Film Festival, introduced by the Judge Baltazar Garzón.
- Got a 1300 people audience at the spanish premiere, in Madrid, on January 17.
- Attended the Guadalajara International Film Festival, one of the most prestigious film festivals in Latin America (out of competition).
- Winner of the Audience Award in the São Paulo Film Festival.
- Nominated by the Portuguese Authors Society for Best Film (2011).
- Best Film of the year by Visão and top 5 Best Films by Time Out Portugal.
- Nominated for Best Film, Best Editing and Best Soundtrack by the Brazilian Academy of Cinema.
- Portuguese submission for a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.
Press
- " (...) it's so carefully constructed that at times it feels like fiction, shuttling easily and with a surprising level of intimacy between Saramago, the public persona, and Saramago, the private man.” in VarietyVariety (magazine)Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
(USA). - "The film portrays Jose's clearheaded pessimism in his quests for human rights." in Cahiers du cinémaCahiers du cinémaCahiers du Cinéma is an influential French film magazine founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca. It developed from the earlier magazine Revue du Cinéma involving members of two Paris film clubs — Objectif 49 and...
(Spain). - "An amazing film about the love that tied them and the exhausting daily routine of a public figure." in Diário de NotíciasDiário de NotíciasDiário de Notícias is a Portuguese daily newspaper, founded in Lisbon, on December 29, 1864 by Tomás Quintino Antunes and Eduardo Coelho. It gradually became one of the best known Portuguese newspapers...
(Portugal). - "José and Pilar is a documentary, but a documentary that dissolves the illusion of the pure documentary. The end of a cicle. A monument to the glory of a writer." in Público (Portugal).
- "Miguel Gonçalves Mendes took four years to make this documentary but watching it makes us realize it will last for much longer." in ExpressoExpresso (Portuguese newspaper)right||thumb|Expresso Expresso is the flagship publication of the Group IMPRESA, and was founded by Francisco Pinto Balsemão in 1973...
(Portugal) - "(...) a documentary about a unique relationship (...) you don't even have to be fond of José Saramago, his books or share his ideology to like José and Pilar." in Time OutTime OutTime Out is a publishing company based in London, England. The company's best known product is the Time Out weekly listings magazine.The Time Out Group Limited conducts most of its business from London and New York City.-Publications:...
(Portugal).
Facts
- The shooting by Miguel Mendes and his team started in 2004 and was finished by 2008. In 2007, Fernando Meirelles started shooting Blindess, an adaptation from José Saramago's homonym book, starring Julianne MooreJulianne MooreJulianne Moore is an American actress and a children's book author. Throughout her career, she has been nominated for four Oscars, six Golden Globes, three BAFTAs and nine Screen Actors Guild Awards....
, Gael García BernalGael García BernalGael García Bernal is a Mexican film actor and director.-Early life:García Bernal was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, the son of Patricia Bernal, an actress and former model, and José Ángel García, an actor and director. His stepfather is Sergio Yazbek, whom his mother married when García Bernal was...
and Mark RuffaloMark RuffaloMark Alan Ruffalo is an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He starred in films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Zodiac, Shutter Island, Just Like Heaven, You Can Count on Me and The Kids Are All Right for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best...
. The film premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Palme d'Or. José and Pilar portrays José and Meirelles' reactions after watching Blindness together. - José Saramago passed away before the final cut was finished but still watched a three-hour version of the film.
- The official DVD and Soundtrack were released in the 18th of June in Portugal, one year after Jose's death. In the same day it was shown at the Portuguese Cinemateca, a special session that got a crowded theater.
- Despite some of the DVD covers only read "Subtitles: Portuguese | Spanish", it actually also has English subtitles.
- The film got extremely positive reviews among the Portuguese community of film blogging.
See also
- List of submissions to the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Portuguese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
External links
- JumpCut (Portuguese, Spanish, English)
- IMDb
- Film Affinity
- http://www.josesaramago.org/
- Facebook Official Page (Portugal)
- Official Trailer (Portugal)
- Official Trailer (Brazil)
- Official Trailer (in english)