Festa (film)

Festa is a 1989 Brazilian comedy-drama film written and directed by Ugo Giorgetti. It stars Antônio Abujamra, Adriano Stuart, and Jorge Mautner, and was produced and distributed by Embrafilme.^[1]

A professional snooker player, his assistant, and a musician are hired for a high-society party in a luxurious mansion. However, they are forbidden by the maître d' from going to the upstairs floor where the party is taking place: the snooker player and his assistant are forced to stay near the snooker table, waiting for any interested guest to play, while the musician can only go upstairs if called. The three wait sitting on a sofa, unable to enjoy the food and drinks served to the guests. Meanwhile, the snooker player's assistant manages to steal a bottle of alcohol, and the three drink in secret while they wait. The housemaid appears, and the three show some interest in the young woman. A famous television actor arrives at the party and passes through the lower floor of the house before joining the guests, causing a commotion among the waiters and staff. Two Italian waiters start a fight and are thrown out of the mansion. The musician, growing impatient, decides to go upstairs without permission and is severely reprimanded by the maître d'. The guests come down to the lower floor, surprising the three hired men who have already been waiting for hours. The host introduces the snooker player to the guests, who soon return to the upper floor. The party is ending, and the three receive their payment from the maître d's hands.^[1] Day has already broken, and they prepare to leave. The film was shot entirely on a single set, which was the downstairs floor where the three men waited.^[2][3]

Source:^[1]

According to Inácio Araújo of Folha de S.Paulo, Festa "is perhaps the last great work of the Embrafilme era. Great, though modest. And although it is an anti-party, in reality." He observes in the film that "between the party and the professionals there is a division not only of floors but of class. The film does not view this distance with resentment: like the artists, it seems resigned to the injustices of the world".^[4] And he concludes by saying: "With the subordinate place destined, after all, to the artists. To those on stage, of course, but also to the filmmakers. Soon afterwards, in fact, Collor would remove them from the party."^[4]

Octavio Caruso, on the website Devo Tudo ao Cinema, said: "A pearl of Brazilian cinema, which won several awards at the Festival de Gramado (film, screenplay, costume design, sound editing, and actor awards for Abujamra and Stuart), deserves to be rediscovered by a new generation."^[5]

Eduardo Kaneco, on the website Leitura Fílmica, said: "Essentially, the film Festa could fit into a play. After all, the plot unfolds in a single setting, and the narrative relies on dialogue to build this dramatic comedy with social criticism. However, it is not filmed theatre, as director Ugo Giorgetti skillfully employs cinematic resources to tell the story."^[2] The critic highlighted the recurring use of freeze-frame to indicate the passage of time during the long wait of the three protagonists and found it "interesting" how a panoramic shot at the beginning of the film reveals the geography of the set. He praised as "excellent" the performances of Stuart, Abujamra, and Mautner, as well as the secondary roles of Jamra, Lewgoy, and Latorraca.^[2]

• Festa at IMDb