October 11 at 1:00 p.m.
October 12 at 7:15 p.m.
(unrated, 92 min., Portuguese w/English Subtitles)
Fados completes the musical trilogy of award-winning Carlos Saura (Flamenco, 1995; Tango, 1998). Using Lisbon as a backdrop, he explores Portugal’s most emblematic musical genre (fado) and its haunting spirit of saudade (melancholy). Tracing its African and Brazilian origins up to the new wave of modern faudistas, he ingeniously deploys mirrors, back projections, lighting effects, and lush colors to frame each song, ranging from a campfire ringed by sinuous dancers to a balletic catfight between two jealous women to a thrilling desgarrada (musical duel) in a fado café. The result is a ravishing fusion of cinema, song, dance and instrumental numbers.