Below the jazzy hum underpinning Angolan director Fradique’s debut feature — about a search for an elusive air conditioning unit — is an incisive political critique invoked by a ramshackle cityscape unstuck in time and awash in civil war memories.
A surreal quest through the labyrinthine alleys of the Angolan capital of Luanda leads veteran-turned-security guard Matacedo (José Kiteculo) and maid Zezinha (Filomena Manuel) to the workshop of the enigmatic Mino (David Caracol), who patches up air conditioners that have fallen from buildings in a spate of sometimes fatal accidents. With a languid pace suggestive of the country’s crushing economic inequity, Fradique condemns an authoritarian regime while delighting in the propulsive jazz score and chaotic soundscape that amplify the magical realism of this striking picture of contemporary Angola.
Details
| Year: | 2020 |
| Classification: | Ages 15+ |
| Country: | Angola |
| Language: | Portuguese, with English subtitles |
| Director: | Fradique |
| Producer: | Jorge Cohen |
| Cast: | José Kiteculo, Filomena Manuel, David Caracol |
| Script: | Fradique, Ery Claver |
| Program strand: | Features |
| Rights: | Geração 80 |