Arabian Nights

[projekktor id=’22635′]

Arabian Nights is a three-part Portugese drama written and directed by Miguel Gomes (Tabu). The film premiered at Cannes this past year and stars Crista Alfaiate, Dinarte Branco, Carloto Cotta, Adriano Luz, and Rogério Samora.

In Portugal — a European 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 cowardly 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. She begins like this: “It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that in a sad country among all countries…”

Speaking to Indiewire about the origins of the film, Gomes said “I always had a desire to make a “tales” film and to work in the universe of “Arabian Nights,” which is very excessive and delirious. I have this tendency, once I finish a film, to want to make the next one in a completely different way. It’s perhaps not very rational. “Tabu” was a very elegantly constructed film, so with “Arabian Nights,” I wanted to make a film that went in the opposite direction and would have an explosion of stories.”