O Perfume da Memória

Oswaldo Montenegro's 2016 Brazilian film follows two women who see life entirely differently. A closeness forms between Ana and Laura, but Ana is hiding something, and that leaves where the relationship will go uncertain. The idea is that remembering is selective. Ana does not tell her past as it was, and the narrative shows this not as a lie but as a form of self-protection; what Laura learns both draws them together and pushes them apart. Montenegro is known as a musician and composed the film's music himself; the songs are decisive inside the narrative. The production is small in scale and the pace very low; the narrative drifts at times into a poetic register. Who it's for: those who like Brazilian independent cinema and queer romantic drama. Who it's not for: viewers looking for a structurally tight narrative; the film proceeds loosely and delays its explanations.