Gabriel Mascaro

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dustin
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2016 7:33 pm

Gabriel Mascaro

#1 Post by dustin » Sat Apr 23, 2016 9:28 pm

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Mascaro's new film Neon Bull played at this year's New Directors/New Films and had a retro at Film Society of Lincoln Center. I find his films very interesting along with fellow Brazilian filmmaker from Recife, Kleber Mendonça Filho. Any fans of Ventos de Agosto, his narrative debut in 2014, or Neon Bull?

http://www.filmlinc.org/series/gabriel- ... bbs-flows/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Black Hat
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 5:34 pm
Location: NYC

Re: Gabriel Mascaro

#2 Post by Black Hat » Thu Apr 28, 2016 11:18 am

Neon Bull is a visually striking film, but the film's characters weren't compelling enough to have you care to take on the challenge of understanding the story.

I'd imagine the film was a metaphor for the struggle of the working class, but I wasn't sure what Mascaro was saying or even if he himself is interested.

dustin
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2016 7:33 pm

Re: Gabriel Mascaro

#3 Post by dustin » Sun May 08, 2016 6:37 pm

I think Mascaro is interested in a lot of different things, including struggle of the working class (which is prominently, inventively shown in his semi-documentaries: Domestica and High Rise). In August Winds, he touches upon the environmental destruction Brazil is experiencing, contrast between youth & aging and preoccupation on fleeting human life. Neon Bull is, imho, a culmination of all his work, delving not only into presenting authentic day in the life of working class joe, but observing human body in motion, not only showing the wackiness of fringes of society outside Rio and Buenos Aires but also complicated sexual politics that is at play. It's true that the hunkiness of the main character doing cowboy shit without a shirt on then hunched over at a sewing machine, making sexy dresses might not be too interesting, but I found dynamics of women characters around him very intriguing - the mother-daughter team and the night security guard.

I'm not saying Mascaro is the new genius filmmaker or anything and not even sure if he needs to be included in Directors thread along with Bergman and Fellini and Ozu, but I just find him interesting just for doing something different than a mere character studies.

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Black Hat
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 5:34 pm
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Re: Gabriel Mascaro

#4 Post by Black Hat » Sun May 08, 2016 11:24 pm

dustin wrote:Neon Bull... observing human body in motion, not only showing the wackiness of fringes of society outside Rio and Buenos Aires but also complicated sexual politics that is at play. It's true that the hunkiness of the main character doing cowboy shit without a shirt on then hunched over at a sewing machine, making sexy dresses might not be too interesting, but I found dynamics of women characters around him very intriguing - the mother-daughter team and the night security guard.
Agreed. He's very interested in the body, the male form especially. To me it felt he was stripping away their humanity, making the men equal to the savage the higher classes believe them to be.

On the ending
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him and the pregnant woman having sex was intense. I wonder if it was real?
I admired many shots of the film, but due to not connecting emotionally I digested them almost as separate pieces of visual art not as part of one cohesive film.

dustin
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2016 7:33 pm

Re: Gabriel Mascaro

#5 Post by dustin » Mon May 09, 2016 8:54 pm

I see your point. He does draw the parallel Between humans and animals. But I think it's more of acknowledging our needs on a base level. I felt there is enough humanity there in the characters without succumbing to sentimental third world poverty porn.

As for the ending, from what I read in an interview, he left it to the actors to figure out and see where it takes them.
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Only actors themselves know if it was real or not.

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Black Hat
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 5:34 pm
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Re: Gabriel Mascaro

#6 Post by Black Hat » Tue May 10, 2016 2:44 am

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Is that true? Pretty amazing. What did you think? To me it was. Also how almost deformed her pregnant body? Was there any mention of this in the interview?

dustin
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2016 7:33 pm

Re: Gabriel Mascaro

#7 Post by dustin » Tue May 10, 2016 6:36 am

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It felt real to me too. I have to tell you, the sensuality of the film really aroused me like no other film. I thought her body was fine?
https://mubi.com/notebook/posts/the-stu ... el-mascaro" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Black Hat
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 5:34 pm
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Re: Gabriel Mascaro

#8 Post by Black Hat » Wed May 11, 2016 12:19 am

Thanks for sharing, that was as good an interview with a director I've read in a long time. Mascaro comes off as knowing exactly what he's doing without being dogmatic. I think this dude has a big future ahead of him.
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No way the actress was really pregnant right?

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knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: Gabriel Mascaro

#9 Post by knives » Thu Mar 09, 2017 8:30 pm

That an actual documentary, Wiseman's spectacular Crazy Horse, accomplishes the surreal, philosophical experience that Neon Bull does detracts from the effect slightly. That is very slight though as Mascaro builds a world which is totally real yet full of some very strange sights. I don't even just mean the Cabaret style intrusions, but also images like a city in the wooded mountains that just happen along the way. This is a film filled with life and unlike many other films depicting people outside the urbane reality of filmmakers it doesn't posit them as others or even different, but a varied group with a complex set of goals and histories which can't be properly summarized by a movie. That the film is structured around Caca's summer break from school, rather than the lead's conflict, helps to give purpose to the structure of the film and not have it just be aimless incidents while also not giving too much weight to a character who could not hold up to that scrutiny. This is a film which uses wisely the strengths of modern art house films and avoids the noxious failings for a pleasant observation of a random group of people.

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