The Other Side of the Street
The
surprise popularity a couple of years ago of Something's Gotta Give
with Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson was a reminder that films almost never
focus on the elderly. This Brazilian export is quiet and lovely
exploration of the life of people past a certain age – a time where people no longer
have work, or romance, or many friends left to pass the time.
Fernanda Montenegro (who is best remembered outside her homeland for being
nominated for a Best Actress Oscar in the 1998 film Central Station) stars
as Regina. She is a lonely woman who lives in a high-rise apartment in
a beach town with her beloved dog Bettina. She is a doting
Grandmother, but she has become estranged from her son because he allows her
ex-husband to live with him. She is a judgmental woman who uses her
sense of humor as a weapon and to keep people at a distance.
The
most important part of her life is as a part of the "senior squad," a group
of older volunteers who agree to report crimes they see to the local police.
While most of the squad members just do it as a lark, Regina takes it very
seriously, going to clubs looking for crime and spending much of her time
watching her neighbors through binoculars.
One
night, while doing her spying ritual, she notices an elderly man (played by Raul
Cortez, another venerable Brazilian star) giving his wife an injection.
Later, when she looks back into the apartment, she finds that the woman is
dead.
Certain that she has witnessed a murder, she reports what happened to the
local police official (Luis Carlos Persy), a man who often gets annoyed with
the nosy older woman but can't help but like her. However, when the
police look into the death, it turns out the man is a respected retired
judge and the death is ruled to be from natural causes.
Regina is certain that it is a conspiracy to cover up the well-connected
man's misdeeds, so she decides to investigate on her own. She takes to
following the judge, Camargo, around to try and find clues.
At
this point, the film seems like a nice variation on the Rear Window
formula. However, it soon takes a quick right turn when Camargo sees
Regina foiling a mugging at a bank and starts talking to her. Then he asks her
out. At first, Regina sees it as a way to keep her eye on the man, but
as they spend more and more time with each other, the lonely pair find
themselves drawn to each other.
Thankfully, this film is much more subtle and thoughtful than it would be if
made in Hollywood, where it would undoubtedly end with Regina fighting for
her life as the murderer that she loves shows his true colors.
Bernstein's film is much quieter and more shaded in hues of gray. In
the end, Regina never knows for sure exactly how guilty or innocent the judge really is, however
she finds out that there was a lot more to what happened than she was able
to glean from afar through her binoculars.
Instead, the movie becomes an exploration of two people who had been trying to
find something to fill the time while waiting
for death. Through bravery and the ability to let down their defenses, they are able to find a new sense of purpose.
(3/05)
Jay S.
Jacobs
Copyright ©2005 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved.
Posted: February 23,
2005.
