Length: 85'
Director: Leon Hirszman
Producer: Meta Produções Cinematográficas Ltda
Production: J. P. Carvalho, Joffre Rodrigues, Aluisio Leite Garcia
Script: Leon Hirszman, Eduardo Coutinho
Cinematographer: José Medeiros
Editing: Nello Melli
Music: Radamés Gnatalli, Nelson Cavaquinho, Amâncio Cardozo
With: Fernanda Montenegro, Ivan Candido, Nelson Xavier, Paulo Gracindo, Dinorah Brillante, Joel Barcelos, Hugo Carvana, Virginia Valli, Vanda Lacerda.
Based on the play of the same name by Nelson Rodrigues, A falecida is the story of alienation. Zulmira wishes to die and dreams of a luxury funeral that will redeem her from an empty and miserable life. Featuring a remarkable performance by Fernanda Montenegro in her first film role, and scripted by Leon Hirszam and Eduardo Coutinho, the film exposes the apathy, stagnation and degradation of the middle classes in the carioca suburbs. “I looked at A falecida, a piece about the alienation of a woman whose husband is unemployed. She becomes an inner reality, obsessed by death, by self-destruction, to take revenge on a society that oppresses her. This was not just an aberration, but a broader discourse. The story combined a psychoanalytical, personal dimension and a social dimension. The tragedy of a woman’s self-destruction because of her sexual repression moved me. In A falecida I found the coexistence with the suburbs, unemployment, alienation, the presence of football, values that were very close to me. That’s why I fell in love with it and wanted to film it.” – Leon Hirszman
We appreciate the collaboration of the heirs of Joffre Rodrigues