New York, 2020. A city caught in between the prophecies of John Carpenter (They Live; Escape from New York) and Trump’s supposed redemptive power. Skyscrapers point to the sky, but, at the same time, cage up like border walls.
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And on his third short Francisco Valente exchanges Lisbon for New York, fiction for documentary, love for… No, one doesn’t exchange love for anything. But setting it aside for a while now, Valente winks at John Carpenter’s They Live, and with renewed robustness and a rigorous gaze films the city that never sleeps taken by a virus. Or is it two? When the night falls Moon River comforts us. A promise lingers in the air that everything will be all right, somewhere in the future. Skyscrapers will be there to witness to it. (Ana David)
And on his third short Francisco Valente exchanges Lisbon for New York, fiction for documentary, love for… No, one doesn’t exchange love for anything. But setting it aside for a while now, Valente winks at John Carpenter’s They Live, and with renewed robustness and a rigorous gaze films the city that never sleeps taken by a virus. Or is it two? When the night falls Moon River comforts us. A promise lingers in the air that everything will be all right, somewhere in the future. Skyscrapers will be there to witness to it. (Ana David)
