Sertânia

Geraldo Sarno's 2020 Brazilian film is set in the north-east. When bandits take the town, Antão is shot and left where he falls. The film is made almost entirely of his delirium. What happened before comes back in sequence, but each telling contradicts the last, and the narrative does not say which is true. It was shot in black and white with scenes staged close to theatre. The director came out of the Brazilian documentary tradition, and this is among his last films. The tone is ceremonial. Who it's for: those who like Brazilian cinema and experimental period films. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a reliable narrative; the film breaks that on purpose.