Arabian Nights: Volume 1, The Restless One

(As Mil e Uma Noites: Volume 1, O Inquieto, Miguel Gomes, Portugal/France/Germany/Switzerland 2015, 125 min., DCP, Portuguese w/subtitles)

Rochester Premiere. In Portugal—a country in crisis—a film director proposes to build fictional stories from the miserable reality he is immersed in. However, failing to find meaning in his work, he runs away and leaves the beautiful Scheherazade to stand in his shoes. She will require enthusiasm and courage so as not to bore the King with sad stories of this country. As nights go past, restlessness leads to desolation and in turn to enchantment! Therefore Scheherazade organizes the stories she tells the King in three volumes. In Volume 1 Scheherazade tells of the restlessness that befell the country: “It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that in a sad country among all countries, where people dream of mermaids and whales, and unemployment is spreading. In certain places, forests burn into the night despite the falling rain; men and women long to set out to sea in the middle of winter. Sometimes there are animals that talk although it is highly improbable that they are listened to. In this country, where things are not what they appear to be, men of power promenade on camels and hide permanent and shameful erections; they await the moment when taxes are collected so they can pay a certain wizard whom . . . ” And seeing the morning break, Scheherazade fell silent.