Arabian Nights – Vol. 2 : The Desolate One
a film by Miguel Gomes
Arabian Nights – Vol.2 : The Desolate One
A film by Miguel Gomes
- 2015
- Portugal, France, Germany, Switzerland
- 132 minutes
- VO French – FR, DE, EN, PT subtitles
In Portugal – a European country in crisis – a film director proposes to build fictional stories from the miserable reality he is immersed in. However, failing to find meaning in his work, he cowardly runs away and leaves the beautiful Scheherazade to stand in his shoes. She will need enthusiasm and courage so as not to bore the King with the sad stories of this country! As nights go by, distress leads to desolation which in turn leads to enchantment. Scheherazade will organise the stories she tells the King in three volumes. She begins like this: “It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that in a sad country among all countries…”.
Volume 2 : The Desolate One
In which Scheherazade tells of how desolation invaded men: “It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that a distressed Judge will cry instead of giving out her sentence on a night when all three moons are aligned. A runaway murderer will wander through the land for over forty days and will teletransport himself to escape the Guard while dreaming of prostitutes and partridges. A wounded cow will reminisce about a thousand-year-old olive tree while saying what she must say, which will sound none less than sad! The residents of a tower block in the suburbs will save parrots and piss inside lifts while surrounded by dead people and ghosts; including in fact a dog that…”. And seeing the morning break, Scheherazade fell silent.
“Damned tales! If things continue this way my daughter will surely end up with her throat slit!” – the Grand-Vizier, Scheherazade’s father, thinks in his palace in Bagdad.
Arabian Nights – Vol.2 : The Desolate One
A film by Miguel Gomes
- 2015
- Portugal, France, Germany, Switzerland
- 132 minutes
- VO French – FR, DE, EN, PT subtitles
In Portugal – a European country in crisis – a film director proposes to build fictional stories from the miserable reality he is immersed in. However, failing to find meaning in his work, he cowardly runs away and leaves the beautiful Scheherazade to stand in his shoes. She will need enthusiasm and courage so as not to bore the King with the sad stories of this country! As nights go by, distress leads to desolation which in turn leads to enchantment. Scheherazade will organise the stories she tells the King in three volumes. She begins like this: “It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that in a sad country among all countries…”.
Volume 2 : The Desolate One
In which Scheherazade tells of how desolation invaded men: “It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that a distressed Judge will cry instead of giving out her sentence on a night when all three moons are aligned. A runaway murderer will wander through the land for over forty days and will teletransport himself to escape the Guard while dreaming of prostitutes and partridges. A wounded cow will reminisce about a thousand-year-old olive tree while saying what she must say, which will sound none less than sad! The residents of a tower block in the suburbs will save parrots and piss inside lifts while surrounded by dead people and ghosts; including in fact a dog that…”. And seeing the morning break, Scheherazade fell silent.
“Damned tales! If things continue this way my daughter will surely end up with her throat slit!” – the Grand-Vizier, Scheherazade’s father, thinks in his palace in Bagdad.
Awards
- Best supporting actress – Luísa Cruz,
- Best director– Miguel Gomes,
- Best screenplay – Miguel Gomes, Mariana Ricardo and Telmo Churro
- Best actress– Crista Alfaiate
- Best sound – Vasco Pimentel & Miguel Martins
- Sydney Film Prize
- Prémio FIPRESCI
- Silver Girardillo
- Best film
Fénix
- Best editing
Prémios ÁQUILA
- Best actress – Crista Alfaiate
FESTIVALS ( Selection )
World Premiere : Director’s Fortnight, Cannes 2015
European Film Awards
Sydney FF
New Horizons IFF
Sevilla Festival de Cine Europeo
Fénix
Caminhos do Cinema Português
Midnight Sun FF
Prémios ÁQUILA
Filmfest München
Caminhos do Cinema Português
Karlovy Vary FF
Jerusalem IFF
FidMarseille
Curtas Via do Conde
New Zealand IFF
Melbourne IFF
Toronto IFF
Bergen IFF
Busan IFF
Mostra de São Paulo
Valdivia IFF
New York FF
London FF
Festival du Nouveau Cinéma
CPH:DOX
Mar del Plata IFF
Thessaloniki IFF
Taipei Golden Horse FF
Torino IFF
Janela Internacional de Cinema do Recife
Cast & crew
With
Crista Alfaiate
Dinarte Branco
Carloto Cotta
Adriano Luz
Rogério Samora
Maria Rueff
Cristina Carvalhal
Luisa Cruz
Américo Silva
Diogo Dória
Bruno Bravo
Tiago Fagulha
Teresa Madruga
Screenplay
Miguel Gomes
Mariana Ricardo
Telmo Churro
Director
Miguel Gomes
Director of photography
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom
Assistant director
Bruno Lourenço
Assistant camera
Lisa Persson
Sound
Vasco Pimentel
Art director
Bruno Duarte
Artur Pinheiro
Costumes
Silvia Grabowski
Editing
Telmo Churro
Miguel Gomes
Pedro FIlipe Marques
Sound mixing
Miguel Martins
Production manager
Isabel Silva
Production
O Som e a furia
Shellac sud
Komplizen film
Box Productions
Associate producer
Agat Films
In coproduction with
Arte
ZDF
RTP
RTS
SSR SRG
Michel Merkt
Director’s bio
Miguel Gomes was born in Lisbon, in 1972. He studied Cinema and worked as a Film critic between 1996 and 2000. He directed several short films. THE FACE YOU DESERVE (2004) was his first feature. OUR BELOVED MONTH OF AUGUST (2008) and TABU (2012) have confirmed his talent and were an international success. TABU has been released in about 50 countries, and has won dozens of awards.
Retrospectives from Miguel’s work have been programmed at the Viennale, the BAFICI, Torino Film Festival, in Germany, and in the USA.
ARABIAN NIGHTS, is a three-part feature film, which premiered in 2015, at the Directors Fortnight in Cannes.
