Odete
Reel Affirmations 2005
Review by Randy Shulman
Rating: 
(5 out of 5)
[Critic’s Pick!]
Wednesday, 10/19/2005, 9:15 PM
Feature presentation, $6 at Lincoln Theatre
Portugese with English subtitles
THE LESS SAID about Odete, the better. Suffice it to say that this Portugese thriller is compelling, creepy and boasts one of the most alarming and disturbing scenes you’re likely to encounter in this year’s festival.
When Pedro (Joao Carriera) is killed in a car accident, his grieving boyfriend, Rui (Nuno Gil), finds life unbearable. He’d kill himself (and he tries) were it not for the intervention of Odete (Ana Cristina De Oliveira), a beautiful young woman who believes she’s been impregnated by Pedro from beyond the grave. Things get stranger and stranger in this fantastically dark drama from director João Pedro Rodrigues.
Is Odete manipulative? Or just an out-and-out whack job? You won’t get any answers from the movie — it’s pure BYOI (Bring Your Own Interpretation). But, boy, does it have sumptuous atmosphere to spare, provided by photographer Rui Poças. Cinephiles will adore it (the French recently gave it a special mention award at Cannes). And everyone else? Well, it’s not for everyone, but anyone who takes a chance on Odete will get the kind of payoff you only get in film festival showings. You’ll leave haunted. Perhaps permanently.
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