Weekly Review No. 14 | Me You Them
- Rebecca D'Souza
- Jun 11, 2021
- 4 min read
A ponderous tale that doesn\’t go beneath the surface.
Darlene, and her sleeping child. | (Pomeranz 2009)
Review
An influential figure from the theatre company Asdrúbal Trouxe o Trombone (“Asdrúbal brought the trombone”[1]) in Rio de Janeiro’s, Brazil, cultural scene in the 1970s – Brazilian actress, Regina Casé, plays Darlene in the short film, Eu Tu Eles (Me You Them – 2000), directed by Andrucha Waddington[2] and written by Elena Soarez. At the beginning of the short montage, we are told by Australian film critic, Margaret Pomeranz, that Waddington was loosely inspired to produce Me You Them from a 1995 TV news report where a woman was living with three husbands in a rural backwater in modern-day Brazil.
The link to the excerpt takes you to a web page titled as ‘A ponderous tale that doesn\’t go beneath the surface.’ With comments by Pomeranz, “Darlene lives in the Brazilian outback and manages to collect three husbands, all living together under one roof. Her joy of living and matter of fact nature make the house a convivial home, more or less.”[3]
A Critic by Pomeranz
“Darlene, Regina Casé, is heavily pregnant. She [leaves for a provincial town] after being stood up at the altar and doesn’t return to her home village for three years, [though] just in time to attend her grandmother’s funeral. With minimal prospects she accepts a marriage offer from Osias, Lima Duarte, who is much older and we discover, very stuck in his ways. He doesn’t even seem interested in her sexually, which is why when a chance encounter leads to a further pregnancy he doesn’t seem to mind very much that the baby is black. His cousin Zezinho, Stenio Garcia, is infatuated with Darlene and moves in to Osias’ house to help with the cooking. Soon baby number three arrives, rather surprisingly with Zezinho’s blue eyes. And the final ingredient is supplied by itinerant worker Ciro, Luis Carlos Vasconcelos, whom Darlene meets in the cane fields. This rather ponderously told tale doesn’t bother to delve too far into this [what would be seen as sensational] situation. It prefers to just present events in a pragmatic fashion that makes the whole [film] rather dull. Regina Casé has an interesting presence but we’re given little access to her character, she’s stoicism personified. On the plus side, the region of Bahia is given attractive wide-screen treatment. Comments from [film critic,] David Stratton, says it’s “A bit similar to the famous Brazilian classic, Dona Flor And Her Two Husbands. It centres on a lovely performance from Regina Casé as the prodigious Darlene, but there’s also fine cinematography, a terrific music track, and a cheerfully immoral storyline.”[4]
Given a rating of 2.5 stars by Pomeranz for SBS TV, I would rate the film 3 stars majorly based on an appreciation for the construction and presentation of Darlene’s character. Placing the agreeably ‘dull’ storyline aside, Eu Tu Eles, does provide for some, I think, reasonable cinematography and simplicity of narrative.
I like the ‘immoral storyline’ comment because it underlines the morality of judgement. Me You Them is drama, comedy, and romance in 1 hour and 44 minutes. Darlene may be delivered as immoral, however her womanly and earthy character is what makes her likeable. As the mother-figure in the film, she acts as the weight and centre of the household. Other events seemingly taking place in accordance to her actions. Whether they are the scenes of Darlene hanging the washing, in bed, or in the fields.
The constructed imagery created and used throughout the film immerses its viewers in settings whose climatically dry yet inviting quality re-sensitises the viewer to the characters entrenched, individual emotional and bodily necessities. The construction of Darlene’s character within the dusty and earthen tendency the film follows is reflective of Darlene’s, her children, and the rest of the characters position in society. The reds, browns, and ochres[5] give a lot of tonal value to the events and interactions that play out. We see an eternal autumn and bare trees. Yet, the setting is rendered into a place of dust and beauty, somewhat romantic even. When it comes to the geographical locations and conditions we see, the fields, the house, and the scarcity of water for example – It feels like they all live there and have no place else to go[6]. A good technique to point out their shared economic situations and the level of development chosen to be shown in the film. The formation and joining of these elements, of the dry climate of the Brazilian Bahian backwater and setting of the village make for a direct indication of class and views associated to a place: fatherless biracial, “coloured” children, the poverty of rural workers, or the numerous immoral habits that are attached to the concerned communities.
Oasias’ good-nature, though in several extents taken advantage of, like providing a place to stay to Ciro, who is a stranger. Zezinho, who is having a rather long visit himself – altogether form a “more or less” convivial household with the children and Darlene. In many ways, they complete one another through the roles that each character plays. Particularly, Darlene.
As American film critic, Roger Ebert, puts it after his observations, “Darlene essentially needs three men to give her one complete husband. One provides shelter, one provides companionship, [and] one provides the needs of the flesh. This doesn’t mean [that Darlene] exploits them; the movie demonstrates that each man is given the opportunity to provide what is in his nature. That is how the household functions. None of the men really wanting the role of the other. The characters have probably never heard of Marx, but they find his formula useful: From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”[7]
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References
[1] Wikipedia. 2021. Regina Casé. 10 April. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regina_Cas%C3%A9.
[2] “Ibid.”
[3] Pomeranz, Margaret. 2009. A ponderous tale that doesn\'t go beneath the surface. 1 January. https://www.sbs.com.au/movies/review/ponderous-tale-doesnt-go-beneath-surface.
[4] “Ibid.”
[5] Ebert, Roger. 2001. Me You Them. 23 March. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/me-you-them-2001.
[6] “Ibid.”
[7] “Ibid.”
Image
Pomeranz, Margaret. 2009. A ponderous tale that doesn\'t go beneath the surface. 1 January. https://www.sbs.com.au/movies/review/ponderous-tale-doesnt-go-beneath-surface.
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