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THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET Send This Review to a Friend
Early in the Brazilian film directed by Marcos Bernstein, it would seem that he is trying to imitate Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rear Window.” Regina, a 65-year-old woman played by the luminous Fernanda Montenegro, remembered for her role in “Central Station,” peers through binoculars at windows across the street. She thinks a man has murdered his wife with an injection. Regina is a neighborhood busybody, informing the police whenever she thinks a crime is involved.
However, it soon becomes clear that the director, who co-wrote the screenplay with Melanie Dimantas, is after more than Hitchockian suspense. When she meets the man, Carmargo, a retired judge, portrayed incisively by Raul Cortez, an attraction for each other grows. “The Other Side of the Street” turns out to be a senior citizen romance, with its hesitations, fears and needs.
On that score the film, though slight, has warmth and boldness. It compels us to jump past conventional movie limitations and consider the possibilities of older lovers finding companionship and joy on their level. “The Other Side of the Street” is quite beautiful on its own carefully drawn terms. A Strand Releasing release.
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