Neighboring Sounds
A palpable sense of unease hangs over a single city block in the coastal city of Recife, Brazil. Home to prosperous families and the servants who work for them, the area is ruled by an aging patriarch and his sons. When a private security firm is reluctantly brought in to protect the residents from a recent spate of petty crime, it unleashes the fears, anxieties and resentments of a divided society still haunted by its troubled past. Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Neighboring Sounds is a thrilling debut by a major new voice in world cinema.
A thrilling debut from a breakout talent, Neighboring Sounds delves into the lives of a group of prosperous middle-class families residing on a quiet street in Recife, close to a low-income neighborhood. The private security firm hired to police the street becomes the catalyst for an exploration of the neighbors’ discontents and anxieties—their feelings exacerbated by the palpable unease of a society that remains unreconciled to its troubled past and present inequities. Meticulously constructed, with unexpected compositions and arresting cuts, this ensemble film is compulsive viewing; you’re never quite sure where things are headed as it builds imperceptibly toward its stunning payoff. With his unmistakable formal gifts and acute eye and ear for the push and pull of modern life, Kleber Mendonça Filho represents the arrival of a major filmmaker.
Rotterdam Film Festival (Winner – FIPRESCI Prize)
Official Selection, New Directors/New Films 2012
Official Selection, San Francisco Film Festival 2012
Official Selection, Los Angeles Film Festival 2012
“Stunning” – Melissa Anderson, Village Voice
“Thrilling” – Gavin Smith, Film Comment
“Sensational” – Dennis Lim, Artforum
“Superbly constructed, skillfully acted and beautifully lensed” – Variety
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