Living Bad
{{short description|2023 film by João Canijo}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Living Bad
| native_name = {{Infobox name module|pt|Viver Mal}}
| image = Living Bad film poster.jpg
| caption = Official poster
| director = João Canijo
| producer = Pedro Borges
| writer = João Canijo
| starring = {{Plainlist|
| music =
| cinematography = Leonore Teles
| editing = João Braz
| studio = {{ubl|Midas Films|
Les Films de l'Après-Midi}}
| distributor = Portuguese Film Agency
| released = {{Film date|df=y|2023|2|23|Berlinale|2023|5|11|Portugal}}
| runtime = 124 minutes
| country = {{ubl|Portugal|France}}
| language = Portuguese
| gross = $61,601{{cite Box Office Mojo|title=Living Bad |id=26440896|access-date=11 October 2023}}
}}
Living Bad ({{langx|pt|Viver Mal}}) is a 2023 Portuguese-French drama film directed by João Canijo. For his screenplay about the hotel guests, he was inspired by motifs from three plays by August Strindberg.{{Cite web|url=http://www.midas-filmes.pt/producao/produzidos/viver-mal/english/ |title=Living Bad |access-date=3 February 2023 |website= Midas Films|language=en}} Starring Nuno Lopes and Leonor Silveira, the film portrays the story of a family-run hotel by the northern shore of Portugal, which welcomes its guests over the weekend.{{Cite web|url=https://en.unifrance.org/movie/56143/living-bad |title= Living Bad: A Feature film by João Canijo|access-date=3 February 2023 |website= Unifrance |language=en}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.portugalfilm.org/film/viver_mal |title= Living Bad, João Canijo|date=10 February 2023|access-date=10 February 2023 |website= Portuguese Film Agency |language=en}} It is selected in Encounter at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 23 February 2023.{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2023/01/berlin-film-festival-competition-lineup-1235237036/ |title= Berlin Film Festival: Sean Penn, Philippe Garrel, Margarethe Von Trotta & Christian Petzold In Competition — Full List |first= Zac |last= Ntim|website= Deadline Hollywood |date=23 January 2023 |access-date=3 February 2023|lang=en}} The film also featured in the list of Teddy Award.{{cite web|url=https://blog.teddyaward.tv/en/feature-films/ |title= Feature Films: TEDDY listed|website= Teddy Award |publisher=Word Press |date=11 February 2023|access-date=13 February 2023|language=de}}
At the same time, the director has made another film, Bad Living, in which the focus is on family running the hotel. Bad Living has also been selected at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival in Competition.{{Cite web|url=https://expresso.pt/revista/culturas/cinema/2023-01-23-Mal-Viver-e-Viver-Mal-filmes-de-Joao-Canijo-vao-estar-na-competicao-do-Festival-de-Cinema-de-Berlim-cd26a05d |title="Mal Viver" e "Viver Mal": filmes de João Canijo vão estar na competição do Festival de Cinema de Berlim|trans-title="Mal Viver" and "Viver Mal": films by João Canijo will be in competition at the Berlin Film Festival|date=23 January 2023 |access-date=3 February 2023 |website= Expresso50 |language=pt}}
Synopsis
A family run hote in Ofir (municipality of Esposende), by the northern shore of Portugal, gets three families
as its guests over the weekend. First is a man, who is torn between his wife and his mother. Second is a mother, who is enamoured with her daughter's suitor, so she encourages her marriage to enable her own love affair with her son-in-law. Third is also a mother, who wants to live her life through her daughter, so she is making her decisions. These three families are at the end of their cycles of acceptance.
Cast
- Nuno Lopes as Jaime
- Filipa Areosa as Camila
- Leonor Silveira as Elisa
- Rafael Morais as Alex
- Lia Carvalho as Graça
- Beatriz Batarda as Judite
- Carolina Amaral as Alice
- Leonor Vasconselos as Julia
- Anabela Moreira as Piedade
- Rita Blanco as Sara
- Madalena Almeida as Salome
- Cleia Almeida as Raquel
- Vera Barreto as Angela
Production
File:Portugal Fao 050326 006.jpg
The film was shot over a 12-week period in early 2021 at the Hotel Parque do Rio in Praia de Ofir. At the same time, Bad Living, a second film was made, that focuses on the female members of the hotel-owning family. According to a producer of the film, the sound and content are said to be "two completely different films". "One becomes more interesting when you see the other," explained the producer Pedro Borges. For his screenplay about the hotel guests, the director was inspired by motifs from plays by August Strindberg. He selected his three plays: Playing with Fire (1893), The Pelican (1907), and Motherly Love (1892) to build narrative of his film.
Release
The film had its World premiere at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival on 23 February 2023. It is slated for theatrical release in Portugal on 11 May 2023.{{Cite web|url=https://comunidadeculturaearte.com/mal-viver-e-viver-mal-de-joao-canijo-com-estreia-mundial-no-festival-de-cinema-de-berlim |author=Bismuto Labs-Web Design e Marketing Digital |title="Mal Viver" e "Viver Mal" de João Canijo em estreia mundial no Festival de Cinema de Berlim |trans-title=“Mal Viver” and “Viver Mal” by João Canijo in world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival |website=Culture and Art Community |date=23 January 2023|lang=pt |access-date=3 February 2023}}
Reception
Nicholas Bell in IonCinema.com graded the film 3.5/5 and wrote, "While these films aren’t exactly love and marriage, as you can experience one quite effectively without the other, together they play like a dense novel of (mostly) unfortunate souls."{{Cite web|url=https://www.ioncinema.com/reviews/joao-canijo-living-bad-viver-mal-review |title= The Mirror Has Two Faces: Canijo's Customers Are Always Blight with Inverse Melodrama|first= Nicholas |last= Bell |date=23 February 2023|access-date=24 February 2023 |website= IonCinema.com |language=en}} Lee Marshall writing for ScreenDaily stated that the film is "A fascinating exercise in ‘narrative reverse-shot’ filmmaking." Concluding, Marshall wrote, "Living Bad’s dramas are reduced to tiny storms in a teacup in one of a series of long-shots of the entire façade that function a little like the worldly-wise interventions of the chorus in a Greek tragedy."{{cite web |url=https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/living-bad-berlin-review/5179565.article |title='Living Bad': Berlin Review|first= Lee|last= Marshall|date=23 February 2023 |access-date=24 February 2023 |website=ScreenDaily|language=en}}
Accolades
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
! Award ! Date of ceremony ! Category ! Recipient ! Result ! {{abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}} |
| scope="row" |Berlin International Film Festival
| Golden Bear Plaque | Living Bad | {{nom}} | align="center" rowspan="1"|{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2023/film/festivals/berlin-film-festival-competition-lineup-2023-1235498906/ |title=Berlin Film Festival Reveals Competition Lineup (Updating Live)|last1=Ramachandran |first1=Naman |last2= Vivarelli |first2=Nick |access-date=3 February 2023|date= 23 January 2023 |website=Variety}} |
|---|
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.midas-filmes.pt/producao/produzidos/viver-mal/english/}}
- {{imdb title}}
- [https://www.berlinale.de/en/2023/programme/202309202.html Living Bad] at Berlinale
- {{Rottentomatoes}}
Category:2023 LGBTQ-related films
Category:Films directed by João Canijo
Category:Portuguese drama films
Category:Films shot in Portugal
Category:2020s Portuguese-language films
Category:French LGBTQ-related films
Category:Portuguese LGBTQ-related films
Category:2020s LGBTQ-related drama films