Technicolor is the warmest color in Bruno Barreto’s (Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands) euphoric return to ‘50s style CinemaScope melodrama. Filmed in the manner of Minnelli (the father, not Liza), this romantic tragedy — adapted from a novel by Carmen L. Oliveira — is based on the lives of bristly Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares (Glória Pires) and the alien who found a home in her country and her arms, Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet Elizabeth Bishop (Miranda Otto). The plot calls for one special effect and it’s a romantic blast: Soares blows up a mountain to afford her lover a better view. The narrative takes a brief hit when the grievously underdeveloped Mary (Tracy Middendorf), Soares’ ex and Bishop’s former BFF, takes up residence across the street. Credit cinematographer Mauro Pinheiro Jr., composer Marcelo Zarvos, and production designer José Joaquim Salles for their vast contributions to the film’s lavish look and feel. (2013) — Scott Marks
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