A Hora
A Hora is the story of Sr.João, who is inundated with the idea of The Reaper in pursuit of him after some old people die in a truck accident which he inadvertently evades by not going for a game of Truco at the Square. Sr.João dreams of Mr.Amaro’s death and how he owes Amaro some money, followed by The Reaper coming after him for some inexplicable reason. Sr.João’s is then engulfed by an irrational fear of his imminent death and does everything in his capacity to escape the inevitable.
The film revolves around the idea of the fear of death and the futile attempts to overcome what is certain. The fundamental concept of the film is ubiquitous, but what makes this short singular is its comical take on the most frightening idea for every human ever lived. Although the story moves forward as a comedy, it evokes a strong sense of sadness as the climax nudges the audience with a profound thought on the uncertainty of human life. The urgency a man feels and the greater lengths he goes to make amends for his past actions to steer clear of death is exceptionally written and portrayed.
An interesting plot is benefitted by an amazing portrayal of the central character, Sr.João. Tião Ribas D’Avila in the shoes of Sr.João walks us through the short with a motley of expressions. He succeeded in making the audience live the anguish of an old man who sees his death coming with an amazingly ingenious performance. We see his refusal to accept what is up for him next, and then we bear witness to his fear of the inevitable and his desperate attempts to dodge it when he tries to settle his debts. And when he finds a loophole that The Reaper is only taking the old ones with him, Sr.João does not think twice to disguise himself as a kid and unsuccessfully challenges The Reaper himself.
Nani Dias with his amazing piece of music that irrefutably elevated the fundamental concept of the film has made a monumental contribution to A Hora. The humorous aspect of the plot encompassing the horrific state of protagonist’s mind is only complete with the music by Nani Dias. Notwithstanding the language of the film, we can actually empathise with the intense yet funny nature of the exchange of dialogues between the characters. The proximity that is indigenous of small towns is covered when a woman comes wailing to Sr.João to help her identify the old men who died in a truck accident.
A Hora, directed by Leandro Corinto is an unconventional and novel short film that makes use of an amazing piece of music to complement the plot that is determined to explore the most fundamental and justifiable fear every human being experiences in life. The film is as humorous as it is poignant, and one cannot deny that the uniqueness of the film is rendered by an amazing cinematography by Bruno Prada and exceptional editing by Carol Donati. It truly is a powerful and stimulating effort by the director and the team to make a genuine film about death.
