V –0 08 - Rehoboth Beach Film Society

feaTure films
38
Do we control our own destiny? Can a twist of fate
change who we are? These are questions at the core of
this fascinating and dramatic character study set on the
vibrant streets of São Paulo, Brazil. Enio thrives on order. A
middle-aged traffic controller who lives alone in a cramped
apartment, he is happiest when applying mathematical
formulae to the potentially random behavior of people in cars.
Across town, thirty-something Pedro builds billiard tables.
When he’s not diagramming the geometric motion of pool
balls or competing in billiard tournaments, he spends time
with his adoring girlfriend. Life is organized and predictable
for these two strangers. But when a dreadful tragedy rocks
their world, Enio and Pedro are forced out of the routine
existence they have worked so hard to create. As the shellshocked
duo deals with the uncertainty of suddenly upside-
This sweet, humanistic drama follows the lives of one family in a
shabby uruguayan town as they prepare for a papal visit. Based
on the true story of a 1988 papal visit to the small uruguayan
village of Melo, this comic drama tells the tale of a smuggler’s
desperate, bungling attempts to escape his meager existence.
Elegantly crafted with style and humor, The Pope’s Toilet
accurately depicts small town life in South America. Melo has
no factories, no tourist business and no large employers. Many
of the residents scrape by with illegal smuggling from nearby
Brazil. The news that Pope John Paul II is to visit causes the
townspeople to plan for an influx of 50,000 people. They smuggle
fireworks, food, liquor and anything else they can think to sell in
not by chance
(nao por acaso)
Silver Hugo Chicago International Film Festival
WED NOV 5 6:05 PM-7:50 PM
THuRS NOV 6 8:35 PM-10:20 PM
FRI NOV 7 6:00 PM-7:45 PM
SPONSORED BY: ATLANTIC SANDS & THE BREAKERS
SAT NOV 8 7:25 PM-9:10 PM
SPONSORED BY: DOLLES/IBACH’S CANDY BY THE SEA
*This film is part of the Latin American Cinema Now sidebar
down lives in different and disturbing ways, the film exposes
the fragile line between order and chaos. The director
uses a voyeuristic, natural style to get inside the heads of
these complicated people and show how they navigate new
environments and relationships. Stirring performances by
the ensemble cast combine with electrifying shots of this
stimulating city to create an urgent mood throughout. Like
Amores Perros and Crash, Not by Chance explores how
seemingly random events can generate human connections
and possibilities that no one can predict.
[Dir. Philippe Barcinski, 2007, Brazil, 35mm, 100 mins. in
Portuguese with English subtitles]
Website: www.notbychancemovie.com
the pope’s toIlet
(el bano del papa)
San Sebastian Film Festival Horizon Award
Sao Paulo Film Festival International Jury Award
THuRS NOV 6 2:50 PM-4:40 PM
FRI NOV 7 10:15 AM-11:55 AM
SAT NOV 8 2:55 PM-4:45 PM
*This film is part of the Latin American Cinema Now sidebar
an attempt to profit from the visit. Beto has a better idea -- he’ll
use his meager savings to construct a pay toilet for the visitors.
His weary wife goes along with the scheme -- he’s a dreamer,
a fact she accepted long ago. César Troncoso gives a terrific
performance as Beto, a man with no luck, on a drive to change
his life for the better. Framed within the colorful chaos of the
village’s preparations, Beto’s unusual quest makes for high
drama and laughs in this fast-moving fun tale of capitalism.
[Dirs. Enrique Fernandez and ceasar charlone, 2007,
Uruguay, 35mm, 97 mins. in Spanish with English subtitles]