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"Aquarius", a unique and mysterious prose blockbuster. The same "Nail Household", the director has a unique and unexpected film depth. While affectionately and changeably depicting the portrait of an elderly woman, she is quietly and continuously criticizing the society. The heroine Clara is not only portrayed as a sexy, intellectual, vivid, lonely, and tough woman, but also is set as a music critic, which makes the music in the film fully and harmoniously participate in the narrative, The language of the film is also rich and dynamic, organically weaving Clara's personal history with "objectism". The first two chapters of the film describe Clara's daily life and past memories in a loose and unhurried manner. Those "objectist" houses, furniture, photos, discs, especially the wardrobe that represents the recurring heritage, are like a jungle of symbols of space and time around Clara, in which she walks gracefully. At the same time, a narrative tension is formed in the memory of the aging present and youthful vitality. On the other hand, as a "nail household", she is constantly fighting with real estate developers to save her home.
This is the second work of Brazilian director Mendoza. He seems to love the use of cities and buildings as characters and powers of film. In his upper work "The Sound of the House", he horizontally described the social form and diverse group portraits of an urban residential area. This time, through Clara's personal life changes, it shows the historical thickness of a city extended in the individual's vertical life memory. Clara and her "Aquarius" are like a fixed point, or axis, in an ever-changing time and space, and by grasping this individual history, the sense of unease and vacillation from external attacks from developers and social change Pass it out, in order to achieve the critical meaning that the director wants to convey, such as values ​​lost in time, politics, markets, the power of memory and cultural identity.
At the end of the film, Clara's confrontation with the developer reaches a high point, with Clara slamming the termite-covered rot wood on the real estate developer's desk. From the narrative logic, it seems a little abrupt, but from the theme logic behind it, it seems to be just right.
Whether it's "Aquarius", or other buildings, it seems to be just a framing device for the director, filled with what he wants to fit in.
Cannes again. And the super long length of 142 points. There is always a feeling of indigestion when watching a Cannes film with a strong style. The expression with regional or individualism always gives people little intimacy in theme and aesthetics. It is not as comfortable and pleasing to watch that Oscar films have a global "political correctness" and aesthetic level. However, the artistry and breakthrough of Cannes films make people full of curiosity, so they can't say they like it, they just appreciate it or learn it.
When it comes to liking, the 2016 movie is an understatement when it comes to liking. No fireworks have landed so far.

There are two connections that come to mind when watching this movie.
One is to think of Hirokazu Koreeda, whose films use courtyards and apartments to load people's emotions and life states. It's the space for me. Aquarius uses human form to reflect the changes of physical space and time, so as to dissolve the values ​​and cultural changes in the physical changes.
Second, the heroine is played by Sonia Braga, known as Brazil's Marilyn Monroe, which reminds people of Chen Chong and Pan Hong, two outstanding Chinese actresses of the older generation. The heroine Clara is like a combination of the two, integrating sexy, intellectual, vivid, and blunt.

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