If you are the kind of person who needs a movie to 'get to the point' in the first ten minutes, just skip this one. ⛵
Seriously, you will probably be miserable.
But if you like to just sit and look at things—really *look* at them—then **Límite** is a weirdly cozy nightmare.
It is from 1931, it is Brazilian, and it is mostly just three people in a rowboat who look like they have given up.
They aren't doing much of anything.
They just look exhausted, staring at the horizon like it owes them money.
One guy and two women, drifting in the middle of nowhere with no oars.
The movie is long, like almost two hours long, and it’s a silent film with basically no plot.
That is a big ask for anyone's attention span these days.
But the camera is **restless**.
It does not just sit there like in other old movies.
It spins around, it looks at feet, it stares at the wood of the boat, and it follows the foam on the waves.
It reminds me a bit of the vibe in
Images d'Ostende, where the camera is just obsessed with textures and light.
Mário Peixoto, the director, was only 22 when he made this, which is just annoying to think about.
How does a kid that young decide to make a movie that feels this old and sad?
The way he uses close-ups is almost aggressive.
You see every pore on their faces and every bit of salt on their skin.
It feels very *personal*, like you are invading their space while they are trying to die in peace.
There are these flashbacks that show how they ended up there, but they don't explain much.
You see a woman escaping from prison, maybe?
And there is this guy who seems haunted by a woman he met in a cemetery.
The cemetery scene goes on for a long time.
Like, way too long if I am being honest.
But then you see the way the light hits the gravestones and you kind of forgive the slow pace.
It’s a movie about being **stuck**.
Stuck in a bad marriage, stuck in a boring job, or literally stuck in the middle of the ocean.
I think I liked the parts on land better than the boat parts.
The boat parts feel like a dream you can't wake up from, and the music makes it feel even heavier.
The way the waves keep hitting the side of the wood... it is totally hypnotic.
I actually nodded off for a second near the middle because it’s so rhythmic.
But I woke up and the camera was doing this crazy circling thing around a woman's face and I was hooked again.
It is definitely not a 'fun' Saturday night watch with popcorn.
Watch it when it is raining outside and you feel a bit lonely.
It makes your own problems feel a bit more poetic, I guess.
One thing that really stuck with me was the **clocks**.
There are so many shots of clocks and watches and time passing.
It’s like the movie is reminding you that you are getting older while you watch it.
Kind of rude, but also very effective.
If you prefer something with more action, like
The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks, this will feel like watching paint dry.
That movie has energy and jokes.
This movie has *mood* and more mood and then some extra mood on top.
Some weird things I noticed:
- The handcuffs show up a lot, even when nobody is being arrested.
- There is a shot of a sewing machine that feels weirdly threatening.
- The guy in the boat looks like he hasn't slept since the 1920s.
- The way the camera moves through the tall grass is actually beautiful.
- I’m pretty sure they didn't have any water on that boat, which is stressful to watch.
The ending doesn't really give you any answers.
It just sort of fades out, like a thought you forgot halfway through saying it.
I left the theater—well, my living room—feeling like I had been underwater for two hours.
It’s a masterpiece if you have the patience for it.
Just make sure you have some coffee ready so you don't miss the good shots.
It’s easily the most beautiful thing I’ve seen all month, even if it’s a bit of a bummer.
I still can't stop thinking about those shots of the phone wires against the sky.
Anyway, it's worth seeing once just to say you did. 🎞️
