2005, Brazil
Adventure, Comedy, Drama, War
Road films typically focus on fulfilling a quest or reaching a final destination. In Cinema, Aspirin and Vultures, the road represents escape.
Tackling both political and social persecutions, Marcelo Gomes' first feature film delves into a topic that remains a contemporary concern, despite the film's World War II setting.
Johann is a German on an unknown Brazilian road, shilling Aspirin to middle-of-nowhere townsfolk in 1942. He picks up various hitchhikers along his desolate sales route, but the one that sticks is Ranulpho, who is desperate to reach the big city. Their cultural viewpoints initially clash, but fortune and circumstance force them to divulge the roots of their troubles and gain new perspectives.
Part of Johann's selling campaign involves different films exhibiting the wondrous effects of Aspirin. These are not only comical but represent a happiness and material satisfaction not likely to be enjoyed by the viewers. Unrealistic expectations create turbulence, and they must learn to recognize how to open some doors and shut others.
Blonde and fair-skinned Johann sticks out among the Brazilians, and whenever someone asks him a personal question he assumes they are referring to his heritage. He quips about being a "dirty German" though it is usually not the desired reply. Though he left his war-torn homeland, he cannot fully allow himself to escape it.
Ranulpho is sour and quick-tongued, ready to disparage the villagers as slow-witted and ignorant. He himself is from such an area but prefers to distance himself by insulting the townspeople. His uses his desire for the city to represent his superiority, though he has never felt such dignity.
These are men who, despite holding a great identity with their homelands, have never felt at home in their mother country. Whether a pacifist at wartime or an ambitious man in a poverty stricken region, neither can contend with their present roles. As they compare notes, they realize they seek the achievements the other has gained.
At times the film has a grainy digital quality that emphasizes the dusty landscape and gritty characters, and blistering sunlight dissolves the surroundings until the men are slowly brought into focus. Just as the men begin with vague misperceptions of each other, eventually their true selves become clear.
Gomes has accomplished much with this tale of misassigned destinies. The dialogue is often spare, and much is expressed through eyes and body language. As with the men's transformations, nothing is quick in the desert. Though they have traveled many roads, they have only just discovered the personal paths they were meant to traverse.