Araby Film Difficulty Ranking: 3
The brilliance of Araby is hard to pinpoint. This analogy might not do it justice, but it’s a bit like going to a retirement home and meeting a fascinating storyteller who intimately reveals to you their life story in 90 minutes. There’s nothing particularly special about Cristiano’s life in Araby, but it’s told so intimately and warmly, that you just can’t help but watch and listen. The patient viewer will reap it’s rewards.
From: Brazil, South America
Watch: Trailer, Kanopy, Rent on Amazon, Buy on Amazon
Next: Tabu, Djon Africa, Extraordinary Stories
The Breakdown
Araby starts with a camera tracking a teenage cyclist making his way up and down the hills of a valley. It’s all supported by a loud American folk song. If you don’t know what to expect, the freely moving, calm opening, without any dialogue or action, sets you up for the storytelling that’s about to start.
Whilst the film initially follows our cyclist from the intro, the majority of the film recounts the life of a factory worker named Cristiano living in the cyclist’s city who has just died. The silent cyclist (he doesn’t say much) sees his dead body entering an ambulance and goes to his house to collect his things (he’s also his neighbour). It’s in Cristiano’s house that the cyclist finds a journal, and it’s from this point that the narrative starts following Cristiano’s life story as written in his journal. It’s a narrative switch a lot like you might have seen in Miguel Gomes’ Tabu.
The Art of Storytelling
If you’re a fan of engaging, everyday storytelling, you’ve come to the right place. The story you’ll witness in Araby is the story of Cristiano’s life, his long personal obituary. What makes it so engaging is a mixture of a few elements.
- His life is interesting: he’s experienced poverty and homelessness, he’s been to prison, and he’s a journeyman. He’s seen a lot, and has probably experienced a lot of things that us viewers have been lucky not to experience.
- It’s narrated: instead of showing flashbacks, Cristiano effectively tells us all about his life, just as your grandparents might tell you all about theirs. Of course you’ll see it on screen as he’s talking, but because it’s narrated, it makes it feel more personal, as if you’re the only person he’s talking to and sharing his life story with. As a result, it would be rude not to listen.
- The acting: Cristiano’s melancholic wandering is portrayed so well by Aristides de Sousa that you can’t help but sympathise with him. He doesn’t have much dialogue, but somehow manages to convey the loneliness and sadness of Cristiano with his vacant, empty eyes.
What to Watch Next
The first film that came to mind when I watched Araby was Miguel Gomes’ Tabu. They both start in the present before drifting into a narrative of someone’s life story. However, instead of following the life of a wandering journeyman, Tabu follows a wealthy Portuguese lady living on a ranch in Africa. They’re both great films.
The wandering, searching, slightly melancholic character of Cristiano in Araby also reminded me of the wandering characters in Djon Africa and Serpentarius. Just like Cristiano, they’re both trying to find some sort of meaning and happiness in life.
Or if you’re looking for one of the best story-telling films there is, check out the episodes of Mariano Llinas’ Extraordinary Stories. It’s three great stories in one.
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