Kleber Mendonça Filho's sophomore feature Aquarius starring Sônia Braga has confirmed a U.S. theatrical release by the hand of Los Angeles-based distribution company Vitagraph, opening at the Angelika Film Center in New York City, and in Los Angeles, on Friday, October 21, following its North American premiere at the upcoming Toronto and New York Film Festivals.
Braga (Kiss of the Spider Woman) gives a tour-de-force performance in Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or nominee Aquarius. The Brazilian film follows Clara, who has vowed not to leave her quickly gentrifying home in Recife, until her death. Her steadfastness brings about a mysterious confrontation, tingeing even Clara's most familiar routines with the tension of a thriller.
The film is opening today in Brazilian theaters under a cloud of controversy. Largely considered a natural candidate to represent Brazil at the Oscars in the foreign language category, it still remains to see if it will be chosen, as the impartiality in the local race to select the Academy Awards candidate has been questioned.
