Just where Costa draws the line between fiction and reality, memories and present is difficult to decipher. His highly formalist approach doesn't help the matter either. But boy, it nevertheless creates a glorious cinematic experience. Vitalina arrives from #CapeVerde, a Portuguese colonial island off the cost of Africa, to attend her bricklayer husband's funeral. But she is three days too late. She emerges from the airplane, soaking wet & barefooted. She is greeted not by family, but a group of migrant workers working as a airport crew. They tell her, “Go back to Cape Verde, there is nothing for you here.” Vitalina's weathered face tells thousand stories. Her huge eyes reflect the darkness of the exteriors & sorrows inside. She becomes an iconic living statue in Costa's observations of the netherworld. As usual, Vitalina Varela is stunning to look at. Every frame is a work of art. The film gives the lives of its inhabitants the poeticism they deserve. #pedrocosta #vitalinavarela