NEW YORK -- Poetry and octogenarian sex are subjects one rarely comes across in the cinema, so Heddy Honigmann's documentary scores points just for freshness.
A portrait of Brazilian senior citizens who discuss their past and present sex lives, "O Amor Natural" is a refreshing reminder that sensuality and aging are not mutually exclusive. Now touring the festival circuit, the film is receiving its U.S. theatrical premiere at New York's Film Forum.
Honigmann, a Dutch filmmaker born in Peru, traveled to Rio de Janeiro to speak to its elderly residents and get their reactions to "O Amor Natural", a book of erotic poems by Carlos Drummond de Andrade, a major Latin American poet and renowned figure in Brazil. The poems, which de Andrade had withheld from publication until after his death because he feared they would be deemed pornographic, are indeed graphic, but they're also joyful celebrations of carnal pleasures.
Reading and commenting on the poems, Honigmann's subjects speak candidly and philosophically about their sex lives. An 85-year-old man unashamedly details his many extramarital affairs, an elderly woman recalls a zipless outdoor liaison with a fisherman, and a former swimmer talks about the sensual aspects of adding water to sex.
Their reminiscences are comic and poignant and all the more startling to Americans accustomed to equating sexuality with youth.
The concept would have made for a better short subject than a full-length feature, even one coming in at a brief 76 minutes. It also doesn't help that de Andrade's poetry is often less than graceful, sometimes sounding like Penthouse Forum letters in verse.
O AMOR NATURAL
First Run Features
A First Run/Icarus Films release
Credits: Director-screenplay: Heddy Honigmann; Producer: Pieter van Huystee; Camera: Jose Guerra; Sound: Noshka van Der Lely; Editor: Marc Nolens. Color/stereo. Running time -- 76 minutes. No MPAA rating...
A portrait of Brazilian senior citizens who discuss their past and present sex lives, "O Amor Natural" is a refreshing reminder that sensuality and aging are not mutually exclusive. Now touring the festival circuit, the film is receiving its U.S. theatrical premiere at New York's Film Forum.
Honigmann, a Dutch filmmaker born in Peru, traveled to Rio de Janeiro to speak to its elderly residents and get their reactions to "O Amor Natural", a book of erotic poems by Carlos Drummond de Andrade, a major Latin American poet and renowned figure in Brazil. The poems, which de Andrade had withheld from publication until after his death because he feared they would be deemed pornographic, are indeed graphic, but they're also joyful celebrations of carnal pleasures.
Reading and commenting on the poems, Honigmann's subjects speak candidly and philosophically about their sex lives. An 85-year-old man unashamedly details his many extramarital affairs, an elderly woman recalls a zipless outdoor liaison with a fisherman, and a former swimmer talks about the sensual aspects of adding water to sex.
Their reminiscences are comic and poignant and all the more startling to Americans accustomed to equating sexuality with youth.
The concept would have made for a better short subject than a full-length feature, even one coming in at a brief 76 minutes. It also doesn't help that de Andrade's poetry is often less than graceful, sometimes sounding like Penthouse Forum letters in verse.
O AMOR NATURAL
First Run Features
A First Run/Icarus Films release
Credits: Director-screenplay: Heddy Honigmann; Producer: Pieter van Huystee; Camera: Jose Guerra; Sound: Noshka van Der Lely; Editor: Marc Nolens. Color/stereo. Running time -- 76 minutes. No MPAA rating...
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