Vitalina Varela (actress)

Vitalina Varela (born 1966) is a Cape Verdean actress.

Vitalina Varela
Born1966 (age 54–55)
NationalityCape Verdean
OccupationActress
Notable work
Vitalina Varela

Biography

Varela was born in Cape Verde and married Joaquin Varela in the 1980s. They had two children, and he was a migrant laborer who periodically visited her. Joaquin died in 2013.[1] Varela made her film debut with a small role in Pedro Costa's 2014 film Horse Money.[2] She is a nonprofessional actress.[3] After befriending Varela during the filming, and as he got to know her, Costa realized that she deserved her own movie.[1]

In 2019, she starred as herself in Vitalina Varela, directed by Costa. Varela's character was married to a man and they were building a home, but he mysteriously disappeared. Nearly 40 years later, she leaves Cape Verde for Lisbon to find him, only to discover that he died the previous week and she missed the funeral. Her character visits his apartment in the slums. After a while, she meets the priest who presided at the funeral, whom she recognized from years before.[4] Varela and the priest, played by Ventura, debate the nature of humanity and her husband, and she frequently delivers somber monologues directed at her husband's ghost.[5]

The story is based on Varela's actual experiences, as she did actually come to Lisbon three days after her estranged husband's death.[3] The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw praised her performance as displaying "a massively imperturbable dignity and limpid gaze."[2] Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal writes that "Varela’s face is as expressive as a silent-film star."[6] Varela received the Best Actress award at the Locarno Film Festival, while the film received the Golden Leopard prize for the best movie.[7]

Filmography

References
  1. Guarneri, Michael (11 November 2019). "Pedro Costa (2019)". Debordements.fr. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  2. Bradshaw, Peter (5 March 2020). "Vitalina Varela review – secrets and lies amid the ruins". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  3. Brody, Richard (22 February 2020). ""Vitalina Varela," Reviewed: An Audacious Drama About the Struggles of an Immigrant Community". The New Yorker. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  4. Kenny, Glenn (20 February 2020). "'Vitalina Varela' Review: A Widow Grieves in Endless Night". New York Times. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  5. Kohn, Eric (August 15, 2019). "'Vitalina Varela' Review: Another Ravishing, Masterful Vision From Pedro Costa". Indiewire. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  6. Morganstern, Joe (March 26, 2020). "'Vitalina Varela' Review: Death of a Longing, Long Misplaced". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  7. "Vitalina Varela scoops Golden Leopard film award". Swissinfo.ch. 17 August 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
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