SOLECITUDO DO CEU/ THE SILENCE OF THE SKY/ ERA IL CIELO

Brazil, 2016, 102 minutes, Colour.
Leonardo Sbaraglia, Anna Carolina Dieckmann, Chino Darin, Alvaro Armand Ugon, Mirella Pascual.
Directed by Marco Dutra.

This is a very strong drama about a marriage, broken relationships, phobias. And it begins, most confrontingly, with a rape sequence. The first 10 minutes are from the perspective of the wife who has been raped. The next 10 minutes are a recap repetition of the episode but from her husband’s point of view.

The wife, Diana, remains calm and does not communicate anything of what happened to her husband. They have been together for some time, experienced a separation and have come together again, especially the two young children. The husband explains with a voice-over that he suffers from a great number of phobias.

While the wife continues with her business, dress design, communicating with her friend and looking after the children, the husband, Mario, begins to follow clues, discovers one of the rapists, working at his mother’s garden business, a beautiful and quite extended hothouse with myriad flowers and shrubs. By chance, he discovers who the other rapist is, two brothers. One, working in an advertising agency, has had an affair with Diana.

The film builds up to a climax with Mario poisoning one of the brothers and then confronting the other in his house, his violence bursting out, Diana, having discovered and followed Mario, witnessing what happened.

The end of the film leaves all to the audience to work out what will happen between the two – which will depend on how they have responded to each throughout the film.

Mario is played by celebrated Argentinian actor, Leonardo Sbaraglia. Diana is played by the Brazilian actress, Carolina Dieckmann.

1. Brazilian production? Uruguayan locations? Brazilian and Argentinian cast?

2. The Uruguayan city? Homes and suburbs, streets? The extensive garden business? Offices? Suburban atmosphere? The musical score?

3. The range of titles?

4. The opening, the confronting rape sequence, Diana’s experience, the rapists and their behaviour? Her reaction? The aftermath? Her dress in the bag? In the laundry? Later found by Mario? Her phone call, saying everything was normal? Asking him to collect the children, their tennis game? Arriving home, playful, the moving cactus, the meal, watching skiing on television? Their normality compared with Diana’s experience?

5. The repeat of the episode from Mario’s point of view, coming home, seeing what was happening, part inability to move, pursuing the rapists, the escape? The phone call, collecting the children, tennis, the children and their going to bed?

6. The background of the relationship, together, the children, Diana and her wanting Mario to move out, his moving out, two years and more, the return? Things seeming normal?

7. Mario, his voice-over, his explanation about phobias, the range of phobias, their effect on him, since being a child? Diana and her knowing these, even listing them? His phobias and the impotence at the time of the rape? His being bent on revenge?

8. His work with Trini, writing the television, his creating personalities in comparison with his own?

9. The car, following it, the discovery of the garden business, watching Nestor? Examining plants, buying the cactus, the dealings with Malena? Diana and her design business, the cactus images, her reaction against them? Mario and his catching the cactus during the rape sequence, his hands?

10. Diana, her reticence, unable to and unwilling to talk to her husband? His knowing and not able to draw a response from her?

11. Julian playing with the phone, the image of Andres, his explanation to his father?

12. Mario returning to the business, examining plants, the advice of the mother, his conversations, the information about her son?

13. Mario getting a gun from Trini? Not going to write with him? His following the two men? At the business, the story about the poisons, his putting it in Nestor’s flask, following, Nestor’s collapse, hospital? Going to confront Andres, the advertising agency, the affair with Diana? His following Nestor and seeing him pause outside Diana’s business, to confront her, the car and his driving off?

14. Diana, her concern, the children with their grandparents, Trini and the explanation of the gun? Diana seeing her husband, following him, going into the house, Mario and his confrontation with countries, the violence and his bashing him? Diana, getting the gun, the implement of killing?

15. Diana and Mario, the effect of the experience, some kind of understanding? Future?