The 77th edition of the Venice Film Festival will host the world premiere of the Brazilian documentary film Narcissus Off Duty / Narciso em Férias, which chronicles the imprisonment of internationally-renowned musician Caetano Veloso during Brazil’s military dictatorship. The film, produced by Paula Lavigne in co-production with VideoFilmes — the company founded by Walter Salles and João Moreira Salles — is the only Brazilian entry in this year’s edition of the Italian film festival. It will be screened out of competition as part of the official selection.
Directed by Renato Terra (A Night in 67) and Ricardo Calil (Cine Marrocos), Veloso recalls his arrest, when he and fellow musician Gilberto Gil were removed from their homes in São Paulo on December 27, 1968, and left in cells with no official explanation. Fifty-two years later, Caetano recounts the hardest period of his life and reflects on his fifty four days in prison.
The title of the film appears in Veloso’s autobiographical book, Tropical Truth, in a chapter in which he narrates the episode and describes how he was not able to look at himself in the mirror for almost two months. Veloso borrowed the phrase from the novel This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Reflecting on his experience in prison, Veloso writes: "I remember a phrase that Rogério Duarte said to me as soon as I was released: 'When one is arrested, one is arrested forever'. On remembering the days on end that he ate on the floor, he notes that he started to think that life was just that — that he would never get back the life he had before.
The 77th edition of the Venice Film Festival will take place September 2 to 12.
