"O Quarto" ("The Room") exhamines loneliness, work and social relations as faced by a 40-year-old man who feels trapped in a new world
context (the hopeful yet critical effervescence of the 1960's), who past his prime years and feels dislocated with everything while trying to live his simple life. Rubem
Biafora's film follows such man, his attempts of change and the whole alienation he goes through, as he pushes harder and harder to make something
different or get something new, anything. Just a new breath of life, because all he has are difficult exchanges with everyone around him, from
co-workers, acquaintances and even strangers, it's all devoided of care and attention, and as one Godard character said in another movie from the period: "Without
tenderness, one would shoot himself".
What's stopping Martinho (Sérgio Hingst) of following such desperate act? Hope, maybe, a fire inside that makes him go through life believing things
can change. He's not getting any younger neither so attractive to the opposite sex, his eyesight is failing, his job is always on the line and
the prospects of getting married and building a family are far distant on the horizon. He's warned at work that there'll be some reductions and he
might be the next one to go, and his bosses are highly demanding. Martinho's solace comes during lunch breaks; a tender hookup with a prostitute; and later on, a brief romance with a wealthy
lady of whom he was very helpful with a difficult situation. Love seems to blossom from this last scenario.
But outside of this exterior world, Martinho has to deal with himself inside of his apartment room and it's all about thinking of what to do,
remembering some past situations when life still wasn't so good or promising, or decide if he wants to go out of the place and have some nice night
out. It's interesting to see that we are not allowed to hear what goes inside Martinho's mind through voice overs or anything, Hingst stays silent
and we have to imagine what he's feeling, see some scenarios presented, as he does not speak for a great portion of the story, not even a soliloquy.
Thankfully, he's a very good actor and it's easy to relate with his troubles and sorrows, despite the lack of progress and change into the character's
situation for a long time. It was a huge downer, depressive, yet I couldn't stop watching it.
What fascinated me the most and it's something that's hardly ever found in movies (especially Brazilian movies from the period and onwards) are
the scenes of sexual nature. Usually exploitative and wild in countless stories, here sex comes as a form of solace, shared contact and communication
and it's all beautifully done. Martinho truly finds comfort, passion, sometimes romance, whenever he's in bed with the few women he knows. It's not like
he loses himself with them, he's found at his best, through tenderness and sharing a special moment that even though he knows it might never happen again,
he's all caring, craving for more kisses, more time to spend with whoever he feels in love or connected with. There's a lot more inside that frowned, serious
face and you can sense it.
Like the amazing "São Paulo, Sociedade Anônima" is a deep and dark view of a major growing metropolis that was at the peak of progress and
enthusiasm, but it was also a city where loves and hopes could get crushed, a place destined for youth and closed for old men, unless you had the
means and riches for it. But Martinho doesn't have the guts or the opportunity to leave São Paulo, like the main character in that movie; he's
resignated into staying there, hoping that there's still time for a change.
I truly like the film, stated reasons or not, and the few complaints I have are all about the unusual flashbacks in between, since it's hard
to tell apart what Martinho has experienced or what is imagined (e.g. The boarding house shared with disruptive guests, or when a guy is arrested after
soliciting a prostitute). Those are distractive and tense moments that become weird to form a distinctive perspective, as it's hard to form a
complete view of the character and his past. Who was this man before being "trapped" in the room? Was life too tough on him and it's only now
that he's waking up and it all feels too late? This man is part of those lives of quiet desperation that Thoreau has spoken about. With a sense
of perception, you get to see a brighter side of life despite its sad circumstances, whether revolving on our choices or the situations that are
thrown upon us. Not exactly a preachy cautionary tale, but one can learn a lot with this film. 8/10.
