The Last Days of Gilda

Gilda loves cooking, men and life. She is a free woman who knows exactly what she wants and how to satisfy her hunger for love, noisy passion and boisterous celebrations. But in her neighbourhood on the edge of a favela in Rio de Janeiro, reactionary Christians are rapidly gaining the upper hand, and her unbridled way of life, self-confidence and independence do not go down well with everyone. At first, the graffiti on the façade of her small house barely bothers optimistic Gilda, but her little world between chickens and pigs is becoming ever more constricted. Based on the acclaimed and eponymous one-woman stage play by Rodrigo de Roure, creator and director Gustavo Pizzi, whose film Benzinho premiered at Sundance in 2018, and his fantastic leading actor and co-writer Karine Teles (last seen in Bacurau) paint a portrait of their protagonist that is as rich in atmosphere as it is fun-loving. The result is a colourful, feature-length celebration of sensuality in four episodes that also takes a timely look at socio-political developments in Brazil. (Berlinale)