Cinema’violence has to be rejected, ‘says director of male brutality in West again Longo de Erico Rassi, who won the best film award at the Gramado Festival in 2024, hits theaters from Thursday (27) by newsroom.

Brazilian western, West againof the director Erico Rassi (Comeback), hits theaters from this Thursday, March 27, discussing essential elements of the genre: violence and masculinity.

Starring Ângelo Antônio (Justice) and BABU SANTANA (The game that changed the story), the feature addresses topics such as male loneliness and the inability of men to express their emotions and sensitivities by portraying gross men who cannot deal with their weaknesses and are constantly abandoned by women they love. Sad and bitter, they end up violently turning against each other.

Unlike classics like The brutes also love (1953) and Hatred tracks (1956), which portray sexual tension between protagonists with aptitude for violence and their romantic interests, the Brazilian feature proposes to highlight the reason these characters do not deserve the women who want so much.

“West again radicalizes it “he said Rassi In an interview with Rolling Stone Brazil. “Violence has to be rejected. Women prefer not to be part of that place.”

These characters from West again They cannot get out of this cycle, violence and machismo. They have no instruments to evolve, it seems. Perhaps the audience recognizes some people they know in the movie. Brazil is still a macho country “he declared.

The evolution of male representation in the Faroestes

Rassiwho also signs the script, immersed in some cities in the interior of Goiás and interviewed different people to create these complex characters who, while they are violent, cannot deal with their weaknesses.

From the initial proposal of creating a western about the consequences of this toxic masculinity, the filmmaker also plunged into the Goiás literature and defined his references as “a salad”. ” Eugênio Carvalho Ramos, Jorge Amado and João Baptista“he said.

The director also conducted an iconographic survey at IMS and had access to a large sertão photography file. Many scenes of the feature were created from their locations visits. “The shooting scene in twilight, when the day is darkening, was built on that lease, which has those plateaus at different heights”he revealed.

The soundtrack integrates the narrative

West again has a fight scene between the two protagonists, Scotch (Antonio) and Durval (Santana), conducted by the voice of Nelson Ned In “I am also sentimental” and other tacky songs, such as “Blue Nightclub” and “Everything will pass”. “These are songs that are within this romantic universe.”

According to the director, the original bands, composed of Guilherme Garbato (Invisible life), avoid emphasizing the violent side of these men. “I needed to bring some melancholy and lonely side to create this difference from these two aspects they carry”he explained.

Awarded at the Gramado Festival

Recorded in São João da Aliança and Chapada dos Veadeiros, in 2019, the film hits theaters in a very different scenario from audiovisual. Rassi believes that the repercussion of I’m still here (2024), from Walter SallesIt will help attract public attention to other stories. “We are in a very favorable moment”analyzed. “Our cinema is very rich, very diverse and we do very well. It was only a little push.”

West again It has already begun its own trajectory in the awards. Last August, the production received the awards for best film, best photography and best supporting actor for Rodger Rogério (Bacurau) at the 52nd edition of the Gramado Film Festival, one of the most important of Brazilian cinema.

Also read: Ângelo Antônio praises West again: ‘One of the best movies I have ever made’

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