The Pink Cloud

A prophetic film that explores what our lives could have been like if the pandemic had been worse. For a movie that takes place entirely inside rooms - Gerbase finds ways to invent and reinvent possible changes in a relationship over time Fascinating

Above the skies of Brazil, seemingly innocuous pink clouds signal the beginning of a looming terror and an issue that lingers for years. Can humans adapt and survive without the socialisation, fresh air, and "normality" we've come accustomed to? And no, I'm not talking about COVID-19. The Pink Cloud predates the pandemic by about three years. The opening titles state: "This film was written in 2017 and shot in 2019. Any resemblance to actual events is purely coincidental." A timely coincidence indeed, the story is eerily similar to the real world, and the surrealist event at its centre seems somewhat plausible in the post-COVID world. Written and directed by Iuli Gerbase as her feature film debut - a strong debut at that - the sudden appearance of pink clouds across the globe causes nationwide lockdowns as people become stuck in their immediate surroundings. The imagery of the clouds is stunning, framing them through proscenium-shaped windows as the confused residents glare at the phenomenon. In the opening images, we see a woman walking her dog by a beach that is silently killed by mist, introducing us to the fear-ridden world to come. The pink clouds act indiscriminately, attack predatorily, kill in just ten seconds after contact, and are a scientific mystery. The film centres around Giovana (Renata se Lélis) and Yago (Eduardo Mendoça), who engage in a one-night stand the night before the clouds appear. They wake up entangled in a hammock on the patio, blissfully unaware that these will be their last moments before a gruelling lockdown. Yago opens his phone and shows Giovana what can be presumed to be an article about the clouds, to which she replies, "it must be a joke." Moments later, they lock themselves inside. Soon after the lockdown, people begin to run out of food, and many domestic and political disputes start. The solution to the lack of resources is a tube installed in their home to deliver food and packages. As they open the hatch, they watch the clock, waiting to see if they will drop without warning and become victims to the pink mist. The couple defines their relationship and celebrates birthdays as the days, weeks, months, and years pass by. Throughout the film, the familiar feelings of isolation plague the characters. The situation for each of them manifests itself in different ways. Yago leans into the rose-coloured environment while Giovana does everything she can to escape the pink tinge of her life. At one point, Yago asks Giovana, "Why do you suffer for things you can't change?". Giovana is incapable of being content with the state of the world, while Yago fully embraces the world's limitations, at times to his detriment. While Giovana is open about her discomfort, Yago seems to bottle his emotions to layer them with optimism. Are these characters' relationships being held together by the pink clouds, and if the clouds should disappear, will they be ripped apart? In a Sundance Institute interview with the director, Iuli Gerbase said, "my idea when I wrote the film was to explore what happiness and freedom mean to each one of us." Her exploration of the human psyche dealing with loneliness and isolation is poignant and overwhelmingly relevant in 2022. Overall, The Pink Cloud enters an area of storytelling that, in light of the pandemic, could be dangerous territory. However, the film offers an interesting perspective on the intricacies of family, loss, and freedom that transcends it from being a cliché disaster flick into a relevant familial commentary.

I think that this was written by a child; one struggling with coherent thought. Boring to boot.

The Pink Cloud is a Brazilian family drama about a couple that just met that has to go into quarantine seemingly forever because of a pink cloud. This was filmed before Covid, however there are some pretty eerie similarities. There a few things that don't make any sense, including how this poison air that prevents people from going outside doesn't seep into the houses that people reside. It's not a tight film, but time skips for no reason which makes the pacing inconsistent and awkward. The entire film is vague, but I haven't seen a movie in a long time that has such a self-important feel. The entirety does not amount to much and falls flat into the dustbin of cloudy unfocused features. Final Score: 3/10

Written in 2017 and filmed in 2019, filmmaker Iuli Gerbase's debut feature embodies a remarkable prescience about the events that came to dominate global culture over the next two years. This story about the unexpected appearance of pink clouds that contain toxic gases and kill quickly after exposure follows the experiences of a young couple who just met but are hurriedly forced indoors into joint isolation to stay alive. Their years-long time together leads to an on-again/off-again relationship while they each attempt to deal with issues related to survival, depression, a lack of interpersonal connection and all of the other matters that have ironically become all too familiar to many of us in recent years. But, beyond the uncanny parallels to real life, this Brazilian offering also explores a host of other philosophical and moral issues, such as acceptance of our circumstances, knowing when to let go and developing appreciation for what we have, even in the absence of what we've lost. Admittedly, the film suffers from occasional pacing issues (especially in the second half), as well as repetitiveness in some aspects of the screenplay/narrative. Nevertheless, this release has much to say, not only about what we've experienced, but also in terms of what we should consider taking away from it.

Maybe if this was released pre-COVID times it would be more shocking, but most of the movie is a slow and subtle descent into the type of monotony most of us have experienced during the lock down phases of the pandemic. I expected a bit more of an apocalyptic / sci-fi feel, but it is more of a family drama.

melhor filme nacional que eu vi em anos