Horse Money

Acclaimed Portuguese filmmaker Pedro Costa’s visit to the Wexner Center for a complete retrospective in 2008 is among the most memorable we’ve had, so it’s a pleasure to present his first new narrative feature since that visit. For years Costa has been portraying the lives of the Cape Verdean immigrants who lived in a now-demolished neighborhood on the outskirts of Lisbon. Horse Money sees Costa again casting Ventura, the sad-eyed lead actor from his 2006 classic Colossal Youth, but this time rather than placing him in neorealist settings, the film slips in and out of time and space, seemingly inhabiting Ventura’s mind. With striking visuals reminiscent of Caravaggio’s Baroque canvases, the film is both a powerful indictment of social and racial injustice in Portugal and a work of masterful artistry. (104 mins., DCP)