Aquarius · reception & legacy
2016 · Kleber Mendonça Filho
How Aquarius has been received, argued over, and remembered.
The arc
Acclaimed from its Cannes 2016 premiere and never really dipped — but its stature has only grown as it became inseparable from Brazil's political turmoil, now standing as a landmark of the decade and the film that kicked off Kleber Mendonça Filho's international run culminating in Bacurau.
What's debated
The perennial fight is over Brazil snubbing it as the country's Oscar submission — widely read as political payback for the Cannes protest — plus the smaller cinephile spat over whether its 146 minutes are luxurious or indulgent.
Its footprint
The film's most famous image isn't even in the film: the cast and crew on the Cannes red carpet holding signs declaring Dilma Rousseff's impeachment a coup, one of the most talked-about protests in the festival's history. Sônia Braga's Clara — vinyl collection and all — became an instant icon of stubborn resistance.
Where it stands
A consensus modern classic of Brazilian cinema and a Letterboxd favourite, routinely cited among the best films of the 2010s and as Sônia Braga's career-crowning performance.