North American Premiere
In this clever metaphysical psychodrama, a grieving writer– tormented by the protagonist of her novel, who has come to life– revisits the story she has written. We see the protagonist await trial for a serious crime. Four women are interrogated as his character witnesses: his ex-wife, who supported him with funds stolen from her new husband; his landlady, who would turn a blind eye to his dishonesty, when convenient; his emotionally detached mother, who feels that only God can judge him; and a pretty woman, pregnant with his child.
The circumstances leading up to the protagonist’s crime are gradually revealed: a lonesome lifestyle steeped in falsehoods; a pathological fixation on a beautiful woman at the beach; and a romance founded in delusion. Years after the ink has dried, the novelist must grapple with the sinister intent of a creation that has spun out of her control. Bolstered by psychologically rich narration adapted from the eponymous novel by Dulce Maria Cardoso, Field of Blood blurs the lines between story and story-within-story to thrilling effect.
Carloto Cotta, Luísa Cruz, Sara Carinhas, Teresa Madruga, Fernanda Neves, Suzana Borges
Portugal
2022
In Portuguese with English subtitles
Graphic Violence
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Cowboy Bebop + The Cowboy Bebop Bebop Band
Here's the double whammy of the season: The Cowboy Bebop Bebop Band (led by Steven Zhu) paired with a screening of the thrilling 2001 Cowboy Bebop: The Movie.
Image: Allan Parker @adp.life
John Coltrane's Blue World: The Mike Allen Trio + Le chat dans le sac
Join us as we celebrate the 98th birthday of John Coltrane and the 60th Anniversary of the French Canadian new wave classic which he scored. Coltrane's music for the film was only released two years ago, as the album Blue World.
The Night of the Hunter
One of the strangest and most beguiling movies you'll ever see, from a poetic, nightmarish novel by Davis Grubb, a fable about two children fleeing from a psychotic evangelical preacher (Robert Mitchum). Charles Laughton's only film as director.
The Battle of Algiers
French Colonel Mathieu hunts for Algerian resistance leader Ali la Pointe in Pontecorvo's classic, which draws the battle lines between colonialists and Arab insurrectionists in a pulsating, "fly-on-the-wall" documentary style.
Credits
Producer
Ana Pinhão Moura
Screenwriter
Luís Mário Lopes, João Mário Grilo, Inês Beleza Barreiros
Cinematography
João Ribeiro
Editor
Roberto Perpignani
Original Music
Mário Laginha
Art Director
Silvia Grabowski
Director
João Mário Grilo
João Mário Grilo was born in 1958 in Figueira da Foz, Portugal. He has directed several films that have been featured in the world’s most prestigious festivals, such as A Estrangeira (1982), which was in competition at the Venice Film Festival; O Processo do Rei (1989), which screened at the Berlinale and the Toronto International Film Festival; O Fim do mundo (1993), which was selected at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section; Os Olhos da Ásia (1996), which screened at Locarno Film Festival and VIFF; and Longe da Vista (1998), which screened in competition at Venice Film Festival.
Filmography: A Falha (2002); Two Women (2009); Escrita Íntima (2017); Vieirarpad (2021)