Culture
Visions of Portugal
On Jose Saramago’s late-in-life memoir of village life in Portugal: “When he was 83, Saramago released a memoir, which, like a missive from the grave, came into English translation in 2010, a year after he died.”
‘The Most Important Blessing Is Bread’
In Amman, writes Heather M. Surls, reverent care for bread is an economic necessity, a religious discipline, and a cultural obsession.
First Impressions
Limited knowledge leads to conjecture in films by Thailand’s Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Denmark’s Susanne Bier.
‘The Possibility of Joy’
From personal essays about Djiboutian marathon running, profiles of Uzbek arm-wrestlers, reporting about Turkey’s female hockey teams, and memoirs of Italian football glory, these pieces testify to the necessity of play.
‘Where Are You Going?’
In three contemporary films from Kazakhstan, Hungary, and Chile, awe is the antidote to savagery.
A Kind of Levitation
On a rainy night in Regua, a hilly town in northern Portugal, a photographer is summoned to the house of a wealthy Catholic family to take a final portrait of their deceased daughter, Angelica.
