Twelve years after shooting, João Moreira Salles returns to the rushes of his unfinished film on Santiago, the Argentine butler of the wealthy Salles family. Santiago, an educated man who collects things and is a bit of a dandy, rolls out his memories in front of the camera and makes a show of his words. After Santiago’s death, Salles edits the rushes and films the ruins of the family home, proposing “a reflection on raw footage”. The editing of these powerful rushes, in a magnificent black and white, questions us, just as Santiago, sitting there, questions us through his death. Driven by strong formal ideas, the film generously invites the spectator into its movement, midway between fascination and a reflexive distancing from what it portrays.
M.M.
