Flashback enhances mysterious meaning of ‘Tabu’

  • By Robert Horton Herald Movie Critic
  • Wednesday, February 6, 2013 7:48pm
  • LifeGo-See-Do

Throughout the divided format of “Tabu,” we are treated to shots of crocodiles. You are free to fill in your own meaning for this reptile visitor, but one thing it reminds us of: However much civilization there appears to be, wildness is lurking about. Or within.

So it proves for the stories we see in this beguiling Portuguese film. A jungle-movie prologue, featuring a colonial-era man consumed by a crocodile, is being watched by a present-day Lisbon woman (Teresa Madruga).

She’s a little bored with modern urban life, and is dragged into tending to an elderly neighbor named Aurora, whose health is deteriorating. Aurora invokes the name of a man from 50 years earlier, Ventura, and when he arrives on the scene, he has quite a story to tell.

We’ve been watching this modern tale for 45 minutes or so, but when the man begins to narrate his story, everything shifts. We’re in Africa, early 1960s, the sunset of the colonial period.

Ventura (played now by Carloto Cotta) recalls arriving at the coffee farm owned by Aurora (Ana Moreira) and her husband. A tale of lust and passion follows.

There isn’t much surprising in the plot, although a final twist about the political realities of this African country is well-judged. No, the novel thing about “Tabu” is how the movie comes to us: The somewhat humdrum modern-day scenes followed by the movie-movie drama of the flashback.

Plus, it’s all in black-and-white, and the African scenes (shot in Mozambique) have no dialogue. It took me a while to actually realize that this segment was essentially a silent film, because we do have Ventura’s voiceover narration, plus some pop songs to represent the era.

This curious and unexpectedly intoxicating concoction comes from director Miguel Gomes, who wants us to take our regular movie-watching habits and hold them up to scrutiny. Or maybe scrutinize our memories of our own lives and the way we can’t help but turn our old experiences into movies, more romantic than they really were.

Gomes doesn’t create films that made A-B-C sense, and he has admitted that when he shoots, “I proceed like a collector not knowing what kind of collection I’m making, but I’m collecting something.”

Maybe because of that, “Tabu” feels like a search, not a definitive statement. You’re on safari, and the movie is the journey, and you’d best keep an eye out for crocodiles along the way.

“Tabu” HHH1/2

Portuguese filmmaker Miguel Gomes takes us to modern Lisbon, where an elderly man recalls an unexpectedly romantic tale of ’60s colonial Africa. Shot in black and white, the film’s mysterious meaning plays with how we turn our own memories into romantic movies. In Portuguese, with English subtitles.

Rated: Not rated; probably PG-13 for subject matter.

Showing: Northwest Film Forum.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.