SILVER

[VIVER MAL]
Part two of João Canijo's ambitious diptych, LIVING BAD focuses on the hotel guests' stories only hinted at in part one, BAD LIVING, relegating the hotel owners' family drama to the margins while still revealing some key details and alternate perspectives to what was depicted in the first film. Inspired by Strindberg, Canijo weaves together three stories of fraying relationships among the vacationers: a professional photographer (Nuno Lopes) competes for attention with his social media influencer girlfriend (Filipa Areosa); a glamorous older woman (Leonor Silveira) outshines her depressed daughter (Lia Carvalho), drawing unwelcome attention from her son-in-law (Rafael Morais); and a young actress (Carolina Amaral) struggles to find a balance between her relationship with her girlfriend (Leonor Vasconcelos) and her omnipresent, demanding stage mom (Beatriz Batarda). Cinematographer Leonor Teles' striking visuals are the star of the show. Both BAD LIVING and LIVING BAD are replete with painterly compositions, but only after seeing both can the viewer appreciate how the two films' images fit together in complimentary, jigsaw puzzle-like ways. DIR/SCR João Canijo; PROD Pedro Borges. Portugal/France, 2023, color, 124 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles. NOT RATED

The companion film BAD LIVING is playing on Saturday, December 2 at 3:30 p.m.; purchase tickets to that screening here.

No AFI Member passes accepted.