Miguel Gonçalves Mendes put a backpack on his shoulders and his camera under his arm for a trip around the world that will ultimately see him travel more than 56,000 kilometers. The film director left Lisbon with a small team, on a journey of nine months in search of the meaning of human existence.
The documentary project intends to follow the route of the early Portuguese explorers of 500 years ago. Along the way, these explorers are believed to have spread a rare hereditary condition called Amyloidosis, and coincidentally, the main character of this film, Brazilian Giovane Brisotto, also suffers from this condition.
On his journey, Giovane will meet with several public figures, chosen because they represent particular disciplines. So far, astronaut Andreas Mogensen, musician Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, who often collaborates with the Icelandic band Sigur Rós, and author Valter Hugo Mae have participated. Appearances by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and Pope Francis are also in the works.
The film production recently came to Macau, a place the director describes as “a good example of how replicas steal the true essence of things”. The film will premiere in Lisbon in 2017 and is being co-produced by Fernando Meirelles, owner of the largest production house in Latin America.
Macau CLOSER: The plan is to spend nine months on the road and at sea. Is that enough time to find the “meaning of life”?
Miguel Gonçalves Mendes: In all honesty, no. I don’t think that nine months is enough two understand the meaning of life as, personally, the workload is so great that it doesn’t allow time to address poetic or philosophical questions about life. There is a predefined script that has a number of questions that are valid and which people can reflect on when the film opens.
Where did the idea for the film come from?
All my work to date has revolved around death. I panic about death and I find it a bit of a universal concern. Just as I think that the work of creative people in general ends up functioning as therapy, this [film production] is my therapy. But José Saramago said one thing about the film I directed previously, José and Pilar, which I found very interesting: “It is absolutely an immoral waste of time crying, saying that life is a disgrace”. If we have the chance to do something about it, we should. Time is ticking. So I thought that instead of being in a constant process of self-pity, it would be more interesting to see what keeps us alive at a time when the system is collapsing and we are becoming less believing. I found the perfect excuse to make a portrait of this schizophrenic world that is as beautiful as it is horrible, arranging characters that function as universal archetypes for all of us.
What was the reason behind the choice of Giovane Brisotto as the main character?
The film tells the story of seven real people: six are public figures – kind of new heros of contemporary times – and then we have a common citizen who suffers from a condition of Portuguese origin and decides to embark on a trip around the world to discover the meaning of life. Throughout the film he traces the path of the disease believed to have been spread over 500 years ago, following the route of explorer Fernão Mendes Pinto passing through Japan, a site where the second largest community of people with Amyloidosis in the world reside.
This disease seemed the perfect premise to speak of globalization and especially the Portuguese presence in the world, without being nostalgic or crying over the lost empire.
In the case of the six characters, there was a need for them to represent certain roles, explaining the place of humanity in science, culture, politics, etc. I wanted there to be an overall picture of the world with each of the characters a reflection of their own culture. We are now finishing interviews with Pope Francis and President Dilma Rousseff.
What answers to the meaning of life can Macau offer?
Macau has positive and negative aspects. It’s fascinating, given the historical incompetence of Portugal, that there are still remnants of Portugal in the East and, above all, that there has been a legacy of tolerance in the territory. On the other hand, Macau is a good example of how humanity deals with kitsch, with the symbolic power of images. How does one arrive in Macau to a recreation of Venice? The symbolic lessens the essence of things. In a few years there will be nothing that differentiates us. And those differences are rich; they are what allow us to make cultural leaps.
Does the film raise more questions than answers?
Yes. What is most important is that we question what we do and think about the path we are on and if it’s the right one or not. In this way I hope the film makes people think. As it has such a large array of different people and cultures portrayed in it, that can be helpful for the viewer. But in practical terms the meaning of life matters little. We are here, period.
