Shirley ‚ Visions of Reality

13 paintings by Edward Hopper come to life in a film that tells the story of Shirley, a woman whose gaze, thought and emotions lead us to the American historical context from the 30s to the 60s. Director of Film ist. A Girl and a Gun, which screened in IndieLisboa in 2009, Gustav Deutsch delves deep into the aesthetics of the works of Edward Hopper to recreate it in cinema, with an absolutely wonderful film, happily intersecting painting with the moving image. Hopper’s work, highly influenced by cinema, has inspired filmmakers like Wim Wenders and Jim Jarmush. It is the aesthetic theme for Deutsch’s film, which gives life to the characters and places depicted by the painter without neglecting any brushstroke”. The shadows are there to recreate the environments, but also the movement of a curtain, the reflections of light and sound, leading to a close relationship between inside shots and off camera exteriors. (C. C.)