Kleber Mendonça and everybody’s "ciranda"

spatial configurations and resistance

Abstract

The issue of space is a major concern in Kleber Mendonça Filho’s filmography, being a significant problematic in Recife frio, O som ao redor and Aquarius, an aspect already suggested in the titles. The premise is that the conflicts which the characters experience are intimately associated with the spaces they inhabit and where they (do not) circulate. In these films, spatial configurations reflect power relations and class hierarchies, which, in turn, denote resistance and violence. Considering the multiple meanings the different spaces produce, we support our discussion in Bachelard, Foucault, Soja and Ryan, Foote and Azaryahu, theoreticians who respectively investigate the relation between the sensorial and space; space and relations of power; narrative; and geography. The analysis reveals the relevance of Recife frio for an understanding of the other films, as if they constituted, concerning space, prisms of the same object.