The Helena Solberg Cineclub brings to London the subversive work of Carlos Reichenbach (1945 – 2012), an avant-garde filmmaker and scriptwriter whose filmography offers a miniature history of Brazil’s shifting social and political terrain throughout his four-decade career. Having explored several genres, including melodrama, porn and experimental, and being committed to social critique, his films are an ode to utopia, dream and desire. Our pick BUCCANEER SOUL delves into the life of two poets and their friendship in a generous film filled with grand scenes of kitsch and whimsy.

BUCCANEER SOUL | ALMA CORSÁRIA

Dir. Carlos Reichenbach | 1993 | Brazil | 112 min. | Portuguese with English subtitles

Two childhood friends (one working-class, one from the bourgeoisie) publish a fourhanded poetry book. The launch party in a downtown São Paulo bar gathers a varied group of prostitutes, yuppies, outcasts, musicians, intellectuals and journalists. As the celebration goes on, the film flashes back to the 1950s, tracking the birth of their friendship, then moves into the 1960s and 1970s to recap how their stories progressed, and frequently returns to the party to tie the past to the present. Inspired by the experiences of the director and his friends, described in the opening voiceover as “a generation driven by faith in utopia,” the film offers a sweeping chronicle of the era by charting the lives of the two young writers while passing through several historically important moments for Brazil.

Fragmented like memory, BUCCANEER SOUL dabbles in an array of genres and tones, constantly moving between the poetic and the grossest comedy, the greatest gestures and the most unfair. Even more wide-ranging are his nods to international filmmaking influences, from jokey asides (Samuel Fuller being casually handed an Oscar) to direct citations evoking Godard, Vigo, and Mizoguchi.

Reichenbach’s 11th feature film was produced in one of the most challenging moments in Brazilian film history: right after the collapse of Embrafilme (the Brazilian film agency that had funded the majority of the national film production, closed down by Fernando Collor de Mello’s neoliberal government), and before the rise of Retomada (revival), with the implementation of a system of financial and institutional public promotion for cinema. Made with minimal structure and budget, BUCCANEER SOUL shared main prize honours in the traditional Pesaro Fest’s 30th anniversary feature competition, and swept the main prizes of the Brasília Film Festival: best film, best director, best script, best editing and critics’ award.

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There will be drinks and nibbles to welcome the audience, and the screening will start at 6.30pm.