SUNDANCE 2021 PREMIERE – Surprisingly researched, written, and filmed before the current pandemic shutdown began, The Pink Cloud (2021) is a Brazilian film premiering at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival that is an unintentionally reflective piece about a mass global shutdown. This emotionally-charged melodrama is writer/director Iuli Gerbase’s feature film debut and is as smartly written as it is brilliantly directed, focusing on the effects of an extreme lockdown situation on close relationships such as lovers, parent and child, and friends.

Upon waking up together after a one-night stand, Yago (Eduardo Mendonça) and Giovana (Renata de Lélis) are informed via public service announcement that everyone must remain indoors in order to avoid certain death from a looming, mysterious pink cloud. With mail and food services still running everyone can shelter in place, however, they must learn to survive their relationships on their own, as life continues despite the close confines and the loss of their freedom.

Unlike other pandemic movies that take a look at the effect on society as a whole, in the case of The Pink Cloud, the audience only gets the point of views from Yago, Giovana, and also a first in comparison to other pandemic movies, a perspective from a child born during the quarantine. The child character was interesting, who lived out a ‘Plato’s allegory of the cave’ kind of existence throughout the movie. Out of all cheesy, soulless, pandering virus and pandemic-themed movies to come out of the covid-19 era, The Pink Cloud is the most authentic depiction of quarantine life, exploring relationships and loneliness. The setting is so small, taking place within one relatively small apartment, however, a whole life takes place within these intimate confines, a saga of a family grappling with their differing measurements on what is the meaning of life and freedom. The overall experience of the movie was wildly cathartic, given the uncanny circumstances and anxieties caused by covid-19.

My only gripe about The Pink Cloud is that it felt just about 10 minutes too long. Every layer and point in the story was interesting, indeed, but when character personalities and stances on issues are already fleshed out there is no need to have a couple do the same fight over and over. Towards the middle of the movie, as the strain and stress of quarantining began to noticeably wear on the characters, the confined setting and the repetitive nature of the story began to verge on tedious for me as a viewer too, so cutting the runtime would help in keeping its viewing lean. The beginning third, though missing the more interesting heated lover’s quarantine quarrels, is worth getting through in order to get to the intense, heavy arguments in the final third. There were a few loose threads that I would love clarification on as they seemed important, such as a pink rope being around their child’s neck at some point, and Yago’s father referencing some kind of rope being tied around him as well, but their significance was not definitively conveyed.

The origins of The Pink Cloud are left open in the storyline enough for it to be up to audience interpretation, allowing imaginations to run wild — is it an environmental marvel or some cosmic force descended from the ethers of space, or some other kind of monster completely? The final scene, similarly, was cleverly left open to audience perception, leaving off on the same note as Inception (2010). This restraint in Iuli Gerbase’s story-telling continually proves the intelligence behind the construction of The Pink Cloud as a movie, and in the end, her efforts made for an excellent viewing experience.

7.5 out of 10