, is currently screening at the 2021 Giorante Degli Autori Film Festival){kind=link}
Daniel (Antonio Saboia), a 40-year-old police officer, is currently suspended from his duties due to an internal investigation. Out of a job and under care for his father, Daniel is also in search for his love whom he met on the Internet and only has been communicating via text messages. Private Desert directed by Aly Muritiba (Jesus Kid, Pátio), is currently screening at the 2021 Giorante Degli Autori Film Festival in Venice, Italy.
Private Desert starts off with Daniel and his ill father, where he is the main caretaker of his well-being, showing how much Daniel cares for him despite his struggles without a police job. The scenes are carefully crafted by spending time showing Daniel helping his father on the basic everyday tasks from going to the bathroom to sleeping in bed. Dialogue is minimal and the focus is all physical action to show how much Daniel must care for his dad.
While Daniel takes great care of his father, his sister is indifferent in having to spend most of her time taking care of their dad. They often engage in conversations where the sister feels that she would be happier if she could do something she loves instead of having to spend her days in the doctor’s office every day for her father. Their bond remains intact as this everyday friendly banter shows that the two are still around living together with their father.
As tough as Daniel appears to be, he is also absorbed in his love affair with an Internet lover named Sara, who texts and sends video clips to appease Daniel. Several scenes depict the sporadic text messages Daniel receives from Sara, sometimes “ghosting” him from her responses via WhatsApp. Daniel would often overanalyze the ghosting text messages and seeing Sara appear “online” on WhatsApp, yet not responding to the last message he sent to her, causing him to be anxious and frustrated. Eventually, Daniel receives a message from Sara saying if he ever comes to find her, she will take him to “see the most beautiful place in the world”. Daniel takes this as a sign and impulsively leave his family behind to embark on his journey to search for her.
The cinematography gives the viewers an opportunity to have a glimpse of the rural areas of Brazil, where Daniel meets locals of several small towns asking if they know Sara. Eventually, Daniel would find a lead where a man named Fernando can help him locate her. Daniel engages in a conversation with Sara’s friend who is making sure Daniel is not a stalker and is certain he wanted to meet Sara.
This tipping point is where various themes are introduced. One of them is Daniel soul-searching to find out who he really is and why Sara has such an affect on his life. Another theme focuses on sexuality and human connection, where beauty is beyond the eye of the beholder, and the art of conversation becomes the law of attraction between two individuals. What the film captures is the first half of building up the story of Daniel to pursue Sara, and the latter half revealing the story of Sara’s.
Eventually Daniel and Sara would meet, but the story does not just end here, this is where things become interesting. The film challenges the norms of use of technology for human connection, making one potentially realize that the personality of one person may be more important than just looks. Each scene tells two very different stories between Daniel and Sara, and yet their stories realize that they share similar struggles of finding out who they really are in life. There is an element of fear of becoming who they really are and trying to embrace it for the world instead of pretending to be who they think they are through WhatsApp text messages.
Overall, Private Desert does a beautiful job of reminding viewers that a deep human connection between two people can often be overlooked by pre-conceived notions of one’s looks before even trying to explore one’s personality. Growing up in a certain environment where one can learn stereotypes that would hinder an open mind to connecting with a certain person one would not think to connect with. And with Daniel being one of the rugged characters who worked in the police force, it created a great diversion for viewers to not expect how his character would evolve to in discovering himself.
Director Aly Muritiba was able to capture this with good pacing and dialogue to make this a thought-provoking film worth watching.