Cinemaosos proposes anthropological study in the largest sex institution in the country

Going to the motel is an experience that most Brazilians have had or think about having. Part of the aesthetics of large and small towns, the motels, with their plates in neon and flashing lights, are almost mystical places. For some, they are prohibited or even profane. They are also the subject of study of the documentary Eroswho hits theaters from this Thursday, June 12, when Valentine’s Day is also celebrated. Symbolic, isn’t it?

In the movie, the director Rachel Daisy Ellis It transforms this icon of urban daily life into a device of social, cultural and emotional analysis, revealing the motel not only as a scenario of sex, but as a space of encounters and, above all, discourses. In the words of the director herself, the motel is “The largest sex institution in the country”, A place with a strong symbolic and social load. The idea that it is a“ mass institution ”, with several layers, is the starting point for this documentary experiment, which is anchored in the collaboration of different couples – and individuals – to document, with their own cell phones, a night in this environment.

The feature of placing the camera in the hands of the participants themselves may not even be new, but Eros It reinvents itself by trusting in them the conduct of their own narratives. It is the characters who decide when and how to film, choosing the angles, the moments of intimacy they want to share or preserve. The director is only to edit what will be in the final cut, based on the material received by couples. This autonomy gives the film a layer of curious authenticity, even when the presence of the camera blends with the thrust of perfusing. What you see is a game between spontaneity and staging, between confession and intimate spectacle.

The feeling that participants are “playing themselves” is inevitable. After all, everyone knows they are being filmed. Still, this game between authenticity and performance becomes part of the film’s own speech. The artificiality of motels, with their red lights, ceiling mirrors, menus, bathtubs, swimming pools and even waterfalls – and, in certain rooms, chains of sadomasochistic aesthetics and even a dividing blind with the neighboring room – it is echoed in small exaggerations of the designed gestures, calculated pauses. THE mise-en-scène of affection is as important as your sincerity. And it is in this ambiguous territory, between what is and what it seems to be, that the documentary is strengthened.

It also draws attention as even fetishes, which are often marginalized or repressed, find legitimate space in Eros. A Swing adept couple speaks openly about their interaction costume with the next couple, stating: “THE People come to the motel to see. If you don’t want to be seen, fuck at home”.

There are also couples who explore dynamics of sadomasochism or even religious erotic fantasies, all naturally, without filters or trials. The motel, in this sense, appears as a territory of liberation: what society rejects, there is shelter. And as spectators, we are not called to judge, only invited to look.

Important to note that the couples portrayed in Eros Contract traditional normativity by displaying its various forms of relationship, desire and affective expression. They are couples LGBTQIAPN+, evangelicals, trios, single and many other configurations that break with the hegemonic pattern, demonstrating that the motel is plural and multifaceted space, capable of welcoming the most varied human experiences.

Beyond this diversity of couples, Eros It stands out for fleeing a purely sexual look. Sex is present, but it is not the center. There are meals, readings, confessions, conversations crossed by anguish, joys and even religiosity and faith. Assembly favors this plurality by sewing clippings as if each motel suite were a window to an affective and social microcosm. The director can make the commonplace a listening field, revealing that desire can be both drive and pause.

In the end, Eros It can be understood as a true anthropological study on the intimate and sexual life of Brazilians within the motel. Just as anthropology investigates cultures, habits and human behaviors to understand them in their social contexts, the film is dedicated to observing, listening and giving voice to the various forms of desire, relationships and practices that unfold in this unique social space. This approach expands documentary experience beyond the mere audiovisual record, offering a deep reflection on norms, taboos and liberations that cross intimacy.

In the end, the documentary of Rachel Daisy Ellis It does not intend to decipher Brazil through motels, but use them as a key to conversations that rarely gain space out of intimacy. Eros It is, above all, a collective portrait that, contrary to what the title may suggest, is less interested in explicit eroticism and more in the human complexity behind desire. A film that proposes less answers and more listening, making the motel room a kaleidoscopic confessional of Brazilian affection.

Also read:The 50 best erotic thrillers of all time, according to Rolling Stone

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