Chaotic and shouty, After the Night is a gloomy summation of life in the slums of Lisbon. Dealer Sombra (Pedro Ferreira) is fresh out of prison and can’t adjust to his life of owing money to people. He spends a great deal of his time with an iguana who he calls the dragon and only seeks out his friends very occasionally; a philosophical fella named Nuvem (Nelson da Cruz Duarte Rodrigues), his aunt and a little girl who all play very small parts in the film and his life.
Sombra only comes out at night, he can’t get on with the day. He worries about what effect the lack of sunlight is having on the dragon but doesn’t make any move to remedy this. He seems stuck, wandering in the shadows watching the gang he is involved with shouting at each other, trying to ascertain what their intentions are.
After a mysterious job goes wrong, Sombra decides that he’s going to leave and never come back. He again takes to wandering in the shadows but now carries a big-ass machete. His aunt convinces him to go to an appointment with a witch doctor, Mister Julio (José Zeferino da Cruz), to excise the bad spirit which has obviously set up camp inside him. Sombra has become convinced that he has to take violent action against the people who are marginalising him. Mister Julio manages to change his mind with a few short words; ‘but planning to go kill people…is that a life plan?’ Sombra seems to gain new perspective but it might be too late.
While the inherent chaos of After the Night paints a colourful picture of this life in the ramshackle collection of old whitewashed buildings and run-down alleyways, assisted by the random appearance of musicians on deserted walkthroughs, it makes After the Night a difficult watch. You never quite settle into the story, extremely uncertain of what will come next. Perhaps that was exactly the intention of writer/director Basil da Cunha; the style of the film certainly seems to reflect Sombra’s unattached life. Pedro Ferreira really taps into the enigmatic, nomadic air of this tragic figure but the film adds little insight into why he is as he is. A tale of isolation and bad choices.
Maryann has awarded After the Night three Torches of Truth
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