A Praga
Hélène Robert & Jérémy Perrin
France, Portugal | 2013 | 75 min
Languages : Portuguese, English
Subtitles : French, English
In the city of Porto, rumours spread about the increasingly threatening presence of seagulls. Folk stories provide the fictional narrative thread of the film. These stories, sometimes spectacular, evoke a more universal idea : the endless struggle opposing human and animal. José Roseira, the enigmatic protagonist, tries to understand, at the risk of being lost. A documentary disaster movie.
In the city of Porto, rumors spread about the increasingly threatening presence of seagulls. The narrator takes us on a journey which often touches horror, grotesque and surreal atmospheres. Scientific experts mix advice with radically non-scientific accounts. Folk stories provide the fictional narrative thread of the film. Stories which might bring to the film a fantastic, moving or horrific tone and suggest a more universal idea: the complex dialogue between humans and animals, endlessly opposing and attracting, constantly moving between fear and fascination. Spectacular camerawork and an extremely accurate sound design accompany José Roseira, the enigmatic guide and protagonist, as he tries to understand, at the risk of getting lost. A documentary “disaster movie”, flirting with our memories of Hitchcock’s The Birds.
Paolo Moretti
