Guilherme Carréra's compelling book examines imagery of ruins in
contemporary Brazilian cinema and considers these representations in the
context of Brazilian society. Carréra analyses three groups of
unconventional documentaries focused on distinct geographies: Brasília -
The Age of Stone (2013) and White Out, Black In (2014); Rio de
Janeiro - ExPerimetral (2016), The Harbour (2013), Tropical Curse
(2016) and HU Enigma (2011); and indigenous territories - Corumbiara:
They Shoot Indians, Don't They? (2009), Tava, The House of Stone
(2012), Two Villages, One Path (2008) and Guarani Exile (2011). In
portraying ruinscapes in different ways, these powerful films articulate
critiques of the notions of progress and (under) development in the
Brazilian nation.
Carréra invites the reader to walk amid the debris and reflect upon the
strategies of spatial representation employed by the filmmakers. He
addresses this body of films in relation to the legacies of Cinema Novo,
Tropicália and Cinema Marginal, asking how these presentday films
dialogue with or depart from previous traditions. Through this dialogue,
he argues, the selected films challenge not only documentary-making
conventions but also the country's official narrative.
