Full text loading...
-
The undeniable pleasures of Tabu’s return
- Source: New Cinemas: Journal of Contemporary Film, Volume 14, Issue 2, Sep 2016, p. 151 - 156
-
- 01 Sep 2016
Abstract
Miguel Gomes’s Tabu (2012) was met with widespread critical appreciation upon release, with much attention lavished upon its rich, romantic imagery, texture and tone. The film divides itself historically (split between contemporary Lisbon and colonial Mozambique) and stylistically (between 35mm and 16mm film), which brought further acclaim for its nuanced take on history and form. However, this historical context provides the backdrop for a love story, leaving Portugal’s colonial legacy as a haunting subtext for the romance that unfolds. Tabu is notable for its stylistic flair, aesthetic beauty and evocation of sensation, over and above its arguable moral duty to engage with the past. As such, the film’s treatment of colonialism has been viewed as aesthetic opportunism. In response, this article explores Tabu’s treatment of film history as a form of critical nostalgia, showing how it harnesses what Robert Stam and Ella Shohat described as the ‘undeniable pleasures’ of Eurocentric media.