psyquick

Joffre Rodrigues succeeded in what seemed almost impossible: massacring what is perhaps the best theater play ever written in Portuguese, his father Nelson Rodrigues' 'Wedding dress.' Absolutely incredible! The script (of Joffre's own authorship) is ludicrous, simply ignoring and therefore spoiling the Pirandellian dimensions of the original text. Let me explain it to those who are unfamiliar newcomers to Nelson's work: the play takes place in several different dimensions (the stage is actually divided in a number of Pirandellian spaces). Joffre leveled everything down to a series of present scenes and flashbacks mixed up with apparitions. I wonder if anybody at all who has not read the play can understand anything about the action which is going on. As to his directorial abilities, none at all. An incredibly amateur. Even good players like Pera and Froes are pathetic. The sound is poor. Words are hard to understand. Brazilian movies used to lack a minimum sound quality in the old days, but that technical problem has been largely resolved in the latter decades. Not for Joffre and his crew. The cinematography is mediocre. ANother minus. I'm sorry, I couldn't believe at first why the critics had been so harsh. Having rented the DVD, I can. Let's go back to the Antunes Filho version made for TV Cultura in videotape format (in the 70s) and especially to the memorable Paulo José version (shortened, though) starring lovely Tonia CArrero, made for TV Globo in 1983.

Novelist Nelson Rodrigues used to be delirious, larger than real and shocking. This is far from vintage Rodrigues, but no less extravagant, bawdy or tremendista. This is a high-class adaptation, as far as colour treatment, set decoration and period costumes are concerned. VERY high-class, I should stress, even for TV-Globo patterns. Actors are fine too. But, touching Rodrigues, I still think that the best version of any of his works is 'Vestido de noiva,' which Paulo José directed for the same TV Globo in 1983.