“The war movie is the movie paradigm of today. The Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, for example, in which is represented the infinite horror, the carnage and absurd violence. The prospect of Spielberg is that war is an incomprehensible nightmare, a pathetic waste of human lives. But it seems to me that of what we should not lose sight is that behind the Second World War, and the D-Day invasion, was the heroism of an objective and ethical struggle, and that there are causes and ideals worth dying for . This reflects, in fact, a very strong trend in contemporary ideological discourse, to consider those who are willing to risk their lives in the name of a cause or purpose as irrational fanatics.

For what would you be willing to risk everything?

It is this central concern of Westerns in general – to what extent you would have the courage to risk his life?

So I think we should not in any way treat the western as a kind of an american ideological fundamentalism. Rather, it seems to me that we need today more and more of a heroic attitude. In this context, what should follow the deconstruction and the acceptance of radical contingency should not be a universal ironic skepticism, in which you engage in something you should be aware that you’re never committing fully – no. We should rather restore the sense of absolute commitment and courage to risk.”

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A performance by Teatro Praga

Text | José Maria Vieira Mendes
Cast | Cláudia Jardim, José Maria Vieira Mendes, Patrícia da Silva, Pedro Penim and Rodolfo Teixeira
Collaboration | Gabriel Abrantes
Assistance | Bárbara Falcão Fernandes and Joana Barrios
Light design | Daniel Worm d’Assumpção
Production | Cristina Correia and Pedro Pires
Co-production | Centro Cultural de Belém
Photography | Pedro Celestino

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Length | 60min
M/12