SILVER

[MAL VIVER]
Piedade (Anabela Moreira) oversees a proud but struggling seaside resort near Porto. Guests are not plentiful, and the family business is now in decline — the family's happiness dissipated long before. Piedade shows more affection for her dog Alma than for her teenaged daughter Salome (Madalena Almeida), recently returned to the hotel following the death of her father, with whom she lived after he and Piedade divorced. Piedade has a strained relationship with her own mother, Sara (Rita Blanco). The skeleton staff of the hotel includes Piedade's cousin Angela (Vera Barreto) and sister Raquel (Clea Almeida), whose own relationship appears to be fraying. BAD LIVING is part one of João Canijo's ambitious diptych, foregrounding the family drama of the hotel owners, while only hinting at the private dramas of the hotel's guests. With part two, LIVING BAD, the guests' stories take center stage, and the full picture emerges. The film was called "[a] haunting work with a ritualistic feel, as if its five central characters have been possessed by the souls of some ancient Greek theatre troupe" by Lee Marshall of Screen International. DIR/SCR João Canijo; PROD Pedro Borges. Portugal/France, 2023, color, 127 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles. NOT RATED.

The companion film LIVING BAD is playing on Sunday, December 3 at 3:20 p.m.; purchase tickets to that screening here.

No AFI Member passes accepted.