The decidedly grown-up heroine of the Brazilian drama The Book of Delights, Lori is an unconventional, primary school teacher who encourages young students to think about existentialism.
Outside the classroom, Lori, played by Simone Sporador, spends her time exploring her own existential needs. She is a woman who leads an active erotic life, and several lovers, both men and women, come to stay at her apartment for the night. (She has her own apartment in the city, an inheritance from her late mother.) This her maternal gift is an opportunity for freedom that Lori doesn’t want to waste.
However, despite her dedication to self-discovery, she is attracted to a particular partner, a philosophy professor named Ulysses (Javier Doloras). Contrary to the Greek mythology from which Ulises is named, it is he who waits for Lori to cross the night. The pair are strongly attracted to each other, but in order for their relationship to develop, Lóri must decide whether she wants to incorporate a partnership into her independence journey.
For this tale of self-determination, director Marcela Roedy, who co-wrote the screenplay with Josephina Trotta, adapted Clarice Rispector’s 1968 novel The Apprenticeship or the Book of Joy.
The film does not share Lispector’s penchant for formalist innovation. It’s a run-of-the-mill movie with beautiful performers delivering their lines seriously in close-ups. Even the overt sex scenes in this film are shot in a more candid manner than provocative or provocative. But to the film’s advantage, it maintains the mature perspective that Lispector brings to her writing. At its best, it shows the characters engaging in thoughtful conversations about independence and attractiveness.
Even if this erotic drama doesn’t break new film horizons, it doesn’t compromise its belief in portraying relationships as an issue to be taken seriously.
book of joy
Unrated. Portuguese, with subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 39 minutes.rent or buy apple tv, google play and other streaming platforms and pay-TV operators.