The House of Sand

Andrucha Waddington's 2005 Brazilian film takes place in, and was shot entirely in, the Lençóis Maranhenses dunes in the north of the country. In 1910 a man brings his wife and mother-in-law out to this empty terrain; while he chases the plan he has invented, the women become stuck there. After his death Áurea starts looking for a way out, and the search stretches into years and then decades. The film jumps to 1919, 1942 and 1969, following three generations. Waddington's most striking decision is the casting: Fernanda Montenegro and Fernanda Torres, mother and daughter in life, take over each other's roles at different points, so one face carries two generations at once. The landscape itself is the film's main force. Who it's for: viewers who like slow, visually ambitious films that cut across long spans of time. Who it's not for: anyone looking for plot and pace; the film passes decades in silence.