FROM PERIPHERAL TO COSMOPOLITAN
The C isis-Images in Miguel Gomes ARABIAN NIGHTS
Luis Mi anda
Assis an Lec u e (in i ed), Escola Supe io A ís ica do Po o/Po o’s Highe School o
A s, Po o, Po ugal
Abs ac
The e e -elusi e essence and idea o Eu ope a e once again ques ioned and deba ed
because o i s mos ecen c isis, which began wi h he so e eign deb c isis o he
pe iphe al Eu ozone economies. This a icle in ends o be a e lec ion on wha i is o be
pa o Eu ope as subpa /di ision/pe iphe al bo de o i , de eloping i a ound wo le els
o analysis: i s ly, he a is ic esponse o he e en s and social dis up ions ha ook
place on he Eu opean c isis and, in pa icula , h ough he way some cinema has looked
a hem; and secondly, one in which his cinema og aphic a is ic esponse is c ea ed
om he Eu opean pe iphe y, and in his singula case, Po ugal. I s objec o analysis is
he ilm The 1001 Nigh s, by he Po uguese ilmmake Miguel Gomes and di ided in o 3
olumes: The Res less One (2015), The Desola e One (2015) and The Enchan ed One
(2015).
Keywo ds: Eu ope, Po ugal, c isis, a is ic esponse, cinema
Pa 1 - Doub o Eu ope. Po ugal: pa -c isis o Eu ope-c isis
Be ween he closu e and he opening, and since 2010, nine yea s-c isis ha e
passed and nine yea s-c isis ha e been made, o a decade ha has s ood as he
mobile ans igu a ion o he doub abou wha Eu ope is as a igu e o i sel ,
ansna ional o m and idea o a land, a se o na ion-s a es and a mul iplici y o
peoples, ci izenships and iden i ica ions. In his book Pense l’ Eu ope/Thinking
Eu ope, Edga Mo in w o e abou his doub o he being Eu ope, no o ge ing
o make explici he duali ies ha shape i , since i we seek he essence o
Eu ope, we will ind no hing mo e han an e anescen and asep ic "eu opean
spi i ". Belie ing o un eil i s au hen ic a ibu e is o hide an opposi e a ibu e,
Luis Mi anda, FROM PERIPHERAL TO COSMOPOLITAN: The C isis-Images in Miguel Gomes A abian Nigh s
168
no less Eu opean. Thus, i Eu ope is he law, hen i is also he o ce; i i is
spi i uali y, i is also ma e iali y; i i is mode a ion, i is also hub is, he excess;
i i is eason is also he my h, included in he idea o eason. Eu ope is an
unce ain no ion, bo n o he mess, wi h inde ini e bounda ies, o a iable
geome y, su e ing slips, up u es, me amo phoses. I is he e o e a ma e o
ques ioning he idea o Eu ope p ecisely in wha i has o be unce ain, hazy,
con adic o y, in o de o y o ex ac i s complex iden i y. (Mo in, 1988,
p.33)A bina y balance and an appa en agile equilib ium be ween impossibili y
and possibili y o de ining an essence and o i an idea o Eu ope a e also
unde lined by Pe e Slo e dijk in his I Eu ope Awakes, when he s a es ha , in
spi e o e e y hing,
he ques ion o he essence o Eu ope is no mys e ious o unanswe able.
The answe will jump in sigh , as soon as we s op wo ying abou s e ile
ques ions abou Eu ope's ue on ie s and e hnic en i ies. The e is no
doub ha Eu ope has nei he a subs an ial popula base, no s ong
bo de s o he eas and he sou heas , no an unequi ocal eligious
iden i y. Bu i has a ypical " o m" and a e y own d ama ic mo i ha ,
o mos o i s his o y, is imposed h ough unmis akable scenes. I su ices
o adop he op ics o a playw igh in o de o disce n clea ly he b oad
lines o he Eu opean play. The ques ion should no be: who, acco ding o
wha c i e ia and adi ions, belongs o a " ue Eu ope"?... bu : wha
scenes do he Eu opeans play in hei decisi e his o ical momen s? Wha
a e he ideas ha anima e hem, he illusions ha mobilize hem? How
has Eu ope achie ed i s d i ing his o y and by wha means does i keep
mo ing? Whe e does Eu ope's powe and uni y un he isk o ailing?
(Slo e dijk, 2008, p. 34)
and, e en mo e his o icizing, he lis s a majo g oup o his o ical igu es who
ac ed in he eu opean d ama o which he e e s, w i ing ha
i o be Eu opean means o p esen in he hea e o he imp o isa ion o
his o y pos -Roman impe ial en i ies, he gene a ion o come will ha e o
e u n o show how i beha es like he Empi e. E en he las ansla ion o
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his impossible- o- ep oduce Empi e will necessa ily be a chap e o he
sinuous and ex emely cha ged his o y inaugu a ed i e housand yea s
ago by he ansmi e s o he Empi e o he Old Eu ope: he ea ly Roman
bishops, he Ca olingians, he O omans and, ollowing hese, he
Hohens au ens, he Habsbu gs in hei Aus ian and Spanish lineages, as
well as he missiona y o de s, he ad en u ous capi alis s and o he
B i ish human lesh me chan s, he Bou bons and he Tza s, as well as he
cha isma ic empe o s and usu pe s o mode ni y, Napoleon I, William II,
Lenin and Hi le . (Slo e dijk, 2008, p.47)
To ques ion Eu ope oday, no only i s wo d-name, bu also i s iden i y idea, is o
ecall, as a possible e lec i e s a ing poin , Jacques De ida's Le e o Eu ope -
Double Memo y, one in which he add essed himsel o he as he "old Eu ope",
bu also as he "old new Eu ope", gua dian o i s double memo y, " he good and
he bad" (De ida, RFC, 2014, p. 471) This (and his) New Eu ope, De ida w o e,
would be one ha
gua ds i s luminous memo y: he philosophical, he democ acy, he
Ligh s, and e en wha is called, in a e y dubious way, he
"secula iza ion". May she also keep he nigh ly memo y, he memo y o all
he c imes she commi ed in he his o y, which we e commi ed in he
name, all hese o ms o hegemony, o colonialism, and in he cou se o
his cen u y all he mons osi ies o Eu opean o ali a ianism: ascism,
nazism, s alinism. (De ida, RFC, 2014, p.471)
Such a dual memo y, posi i e and nega i e simul aneously, knowing and ac ing,
would be and will be a ma ix o ques ioning o wha Eu ope is as space-iden i y
and a social, economic, philosophical and poli ical space-s uc u e. And he e will
no ha e been a clea e momen o his ques ioning han he one ha eme ged
in he cou se o he Eu opean so e eign deb c isis, a c isis ha can be ead and
deba ed om he adical poli ical-sociological ma ix wi h which Mau izio
Lazza a o c i icizes he deb o /c edi o ela ionship in his blun The Making o he
Indeb ed Man: An Essay on The Neolibe al Condi ion, and in which he s a es ha
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170
he deb economy has dep i ed he immense majo i y o Eu opeans o
poli ical powe , which had al eady been diminished h ough he
concessions o ep esen a i e democ acy. I has dep i ed hem o a
g owing sha e o he weal h ha pas s uggles had w es led om
capi alis accumula ion. And, abo e all, i has dep i ed hem o he u u e,
ha is, o ime, ime as decision-making, choice, and possibili y.
(Lazza a o, 2011, p.8)
and which b ough wi h i he phan asma ic spec e s o na ionalis de ia ions
and a e-cen e ing - which is a he same ime a eal decen e ing - o i s
"poli ical- inancial" cen al ield, lea ing e en mo e pe iphe al hose al eady on
i s sides, no only lines and bu also land and ci izens, economically agile and
disconnec ed om decisions ha a e mo e o he in e es o he na ions o
Eu opean cen ali y han he almos con inen al whole ha is called he
Eu opean Union, since, o his cen e , wha seems o be ob ious is ha " he
ue causes o he epea ed c ises lie in he excessi e demands o he go e ned
(especially hose o Sou he n Eu ope), who wan no hing mo e han o laze
abou " (Lazza a o, 2011, p.10) when, and mo e han e e , wha seems o be
e lec ed is i s own mi o - ace, ha o a
neolibe al powe bloc canno and does no wan o " egula e" he
"excesses" o inance because i s poli ical p og am con inues o be based
on he choices and decisions ha b ough us he la es c isis. Ins ead,
wi h i s h ea o so e eign deb de aul , i seeks o ollow h ough on a
p og am i has been an asizing abou since he 1970s: educe wages o a
minimum, cu social se ices so ha he Wel a e S a e is made o se e
i s new "bene icia ies" - business and he ich - and p i a ize e e y hing.
(Lazza a o, 2011, p.10)
S a ing om hese p emises, his a icle in ends o be a e lec ion on wha i is
o be a subpa o Eu ope as pa /di ision/pe iphe al bo de o i , de eloping i
a ound wo le els o analysis: i s , he a is ic esponse o e en s and social
dis up ions ha ha e esul ed om he Eu opean c isis, and pa icula ly om he
way some cinema has looked a hem; and secondly, one in which his
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cinema og aphic a is ic esponse is c ea ed om he Eu opean pe iphe y, and in
his singula case, Po ugal.
Pa 2 - Film analysis (sea ch o c isis-images)
Thus, and o an a is ic e lec ion on he c isis yea s o Eu ope and i s pa
Po ugal, he objec o analysis chosen is he ilm The 1001 Nigh s1, by he
Po uguese ilmmake Miguel Gomes and di ided in o 3 olumes: O Inquie o/The
Res less One2 (2015), O Desolado/The Desola e One3 (2015) and O
Encan ado/The Enchan ed One4
1 The ilm is a Eu opean co-p oduc ion (Po ugal / F ance / Ge many / Swi ze land), encompassing
he p oducing companies O SOM E A FÚRIA, SHELLAC SUD, BOX PRODUCTIONS, AGAT FILMS and
ARTE F ance Cinéma and ZDF/ARTE, wi h a p oduc ion yea o 2015. I s gene al synopsis is: “In
Po ugal — a Eu opean coun y in c isis — a ilm di ec o p oposes o build ic ional s o ies om
he mise able eali y he is imme sed in. Howe e , ailing o ind meaning in his wo k, he cowa dly
uns away and lea es he beau i ul Schehe azade o s and in his shoes. She will equi e
en husiasm and cou age so as no o bo e he King wi h sad s o ies o his coun y. As nigh s go
pas , es lessness leads o desola ion and in u n o enchan men ! The e o e Schehe azade
o ganizes he s o ies she ells he King in h ee olumes. She begins like his: “I ha h eached
me, O auspicious King, ha in a sad coun y among all coun ies...”.
(2015). Ambi ious, aw, deli ious, social, he
2 The synopsis o he i s olume is as ollows: “in which Schehe azade ells o he es lessness
ha be ell he coun y: “I ha h eached me, O auspicious King, ha in a sad coun y among all
coun ies, whe e people d eam o me maids and whales, and unemploymen is sp eading. In
ce ain places, o es s bu n in o he nigh despi e he alling ain; men and women long o se ou
o sea in he middle o Win e . Some imes he e a e animals ha alk al hough i is highly
imp obable ha hey a e lis ened o. In his coun y, whe e hings a e no wha hey appea o be,
men o powe p omenade on camels and hide pe manen and shame ul e ec ions; hey awai he
momen when axes a e collec ed so hey can pay a ce ain wiza d whom...” And seeing he
mo ning b eak, Schehe azade ell silen .”. As i ega ds i s echnical speci ica ions, he i s olume
has he ollowing: Du a ion: 02’ 05"; Exhibi ion o ma : DCP (Digi al Cinema Package);
Cinema og aphic o ma : 2:40 scope; Nega i e o ma : 16 mm, 35 mm, colo ; Sound: 5.1.
3 The synopsis o he second olume is as ollows: “in which Schehe azade ells o how desola ion
in aded men: “I ha h eached me, O auspicious King, ha a dis essed judge will c y ins ead o
gi ing ou he sen ence on a nigh when all h ee moons a e aligned. A unaway mu de e will
wande h ough he land o o e o y days and will ele anspo himsel o escape he Police
while d eaming o p os i u es and pa idges. A wounded cow will eminisce abou a housand-
yea -old oli e ee while saying wha she mus say, which will sound none less han sad! The
esiden s o a owe block in he subu bs will sa e pa o s and piss inside li s while su ounded by
dead people and ghos s; including in ac a dog ha ...”. And seeing he mo ning b eak,
Schehe azade ell silen . — “Damned ales! I hings con inue his way my daugh e will su ely end
up wi h he h oa sli !” — he G and-Vizie , Schehe azade’s a he , hinks in his palace in
Bagdad.”. As i ega ds i s echnical speci ica ions, he second olume has he ollowing: Du a ion:
02’ 11"; Exhibi ion o ma : DCP (Digi al Cinema Package); Cinema og aphic o ma : 2:40 scope;
Nega i e o ma : 16 mm, 35 mm, colo ; Sound: 5.1.
4 The synopsis o he hi d olume is as ollows: “In which Schehe azade doub s ha she will s ill
be able o ell s o ies o please he King, gi en ha wha she has o ell weighs h ee housand
ons. She he e o e escapes om he palace and a els he kingdom in sea ch o pleasu e and
enchan men . He a he , he G and-Vizie , a anges o mee he a he Fe is wheel and
Schehe azade esumes he na a ion: “O auspicious King, in old shan y owns o Lisbon he e was
a communi y o bewi ched men who, wi h all dedica ion and passion, de o ed hemsel es o
eaching bi ds o sing.... And seeing he mo ning b eak, Schehe azade ell silen .”. As i ega ds i s

Luis Mi anda, FROM PERIPHERAL TO COSMOPOLITAN: The C isis-Images in Miguel Gomes A abian Nigh s
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ilm can be included in a con empo a y end o a e y poignan Eu opean
cinema
o he c isis [ ha ] has p oduced an inc easing numbe o ilms ha sha e
symbols, na a i e s a egies, and conce ns, en iching pos -2008
Eu opean cinema and con ibu ing o he c ea ion o a new image o
Eu ope. A la ge numbe o ecen p oduc ions a e conce ned wi h social
issues (…) hese ilms exe a e idical, pessimis ic and disenchan ed
ep esen a ion o con empo a y Eu opean socie y; one ha add esses
social and poli ical p oblems by ep esen ing a eali y ha is widely
ecognized as au hen ic on sc een. (Kaklamanidou, Co balán, 2018, p. 17
– 18)
Wha makes his ilm- ilogy pa icula ly ap o illus a e he Po uguese c isis as
pa o he Eu opean c isis is he poli ics ha i s di ec o Miguel Gomes ollows.
His poli ics is he ansla ion o he igu e-Po ugal as a body o he pe iphe y -
economically, Po ugal is a pe iphe al ma ke in he ul a- inancial ma ke , i is
sub-ma ke in a concen ic ci cle o a dis an le el - o a new embodimen as an
a is ic e o o app oxima ion and as c ea o o a global men al and cul u al
sphe e, since “li ing always means building sphe es, bo h on a small and a la ge
scale, humans a e he beings ha es ablish globes and look ou in o ho izons”
(Slo e dijk, 2011, p.28) and in which he ic ional modes o he O he - o he
Eas , he 1001 A abian Nigh s - a e e-embodied in ans- ela ional modes o
ic ion, speaking o he Us, decen e ing o Eu ope-Space - while making use o
he abula s uc u es o he Space-O ien . In he synopsis/no e o in en ions o
he ilm, Miguel Gomes w i es ha
he na a i e de ice in he s o ybook The Thousand and One A abian
Nigh s is ela i ely well-known and we coun on being pa o he popula
collec i e imagina ion o ocus mainly on he s o ies ha Xe azade ells.
And hese will be di e en om hose we know in he book. (Gomes,
2013, p. 1)
echnical speci ica ions, he hi d olume has he ollowing: Du a ion: 02’ 05"; Exhibi ion o ma :
DCP (Digi al Cinema Package); Cinema og aphic o ma : 2:40 scope; Nega i e o ma : 16 mm, 35
mm, ideo, colo ; Sound: 5.1.
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The men ion o he collec i e popula imagina ion is undamen al o Miguel
Gomes' poli ics: he e a e no sha ply di isi e on ie s ha canno be o e come
by s o ies ha a e common p ope y and h ough which i is possible o ope a e
spaces o c ea ion ha clus e oge he , allowing he exchange o o ms and
modes o ic ion. Tha is why Miguel Gomes con inues o w i e ha
in he ilm, he s o ies ha Xe azade ells will be spen in Po ugal. No in
a con empo a y Po ugal o he ales o he book, bu in Po ugal oday, in
economic c isis and social boiling. The Po ugal o 2013 and 2014,
inhabi ed by ich and poo , powe ul and insigni ican , ha dwo king and
unemployed, hie es and hones men. Ma ked by he consequences o he
c isis, bu also a deli ious and excessi e Po ugal. Wha is wan ed wi h
his ilm is o do wo hings simul aneously: 1) o e ake he deli iously
ic ional spi i o The Thousand and One Nigh s and abo e all o ea i m
wi h him and h ough him he bond ha uni es he king and Xe azade
( he o e whelming need o ell s o ies), and (2) o d aw a po ai o a
ch onicle o Po ugal o a yea (a a ime when he coun y is subjec o
he e ec s o he "aus e i y" c ea ed by he T oika’s inancial assis ance
p og am). Fic ion and social po ai u e, lying ca pe s and s ikes.
Appa en ly dimensions ha a e no a ached o a leas ha we ge used
o s ow in di e en d awe s. Bu image y and eali y could ne e li e
wi hou he o he (and Xe azade well knows). (Gomes, 2013, p.1)
To analyze he h ee olumes o he ilogy and o alk abou he Po uguese
c isis as pa o he Eu opean c isis h ough hem, is o look o some e lec ion
o he human and socio-economic ills ha a ec Eu ope oday: he excessi e
commodi ica ion o economic, social and labo ela ions, he dispa i y o income
be ween he mos and leas well-o , he c isis o human alues and he poo
in eg a ion o mig an s om o he con inen s.
To his end, wo sequences will be chosen om he h ee olumes ha illus a e
some o hese p oblems - in he o m o c isis-na a i es and c isis-images - and
hose will be analyzed.
Luis Mi anda, FROM PERIPHERAL TO COSMOPOLITAN: The C isis-Images in Miguel Gomes A abian Nigh s
174
Analysis 1: om The 1001 Nigh s, Volume 1 - The Res less One, he sequence
The Ba h o he Magni icen . Be ween ic ion and documen a y, his sequence
makes i liquid - i is no by chance ha he sea and wa e a e in i isual mo i s
- he mos humane and pe sonal ace o he c isis, b inging he came a close o
he people who su e ed om he economic and social shock caused by he
T oika's inancial assis ance p og am.
The line ha Miguel Gomes a e ses, wi hou any so ow, be ween ic ion and
documen a y, a i ms a poli ics o e lec ion-mi o , in insic o a ce ain
con empo a y au eu cinema, one ha con igu es a look, bo h g ace ul and
c ude, on i s ic ional o ms/ igu es and ha e e s o a need o be pie cing and
displaye : he cha ac e s a e ha same cha ac e s, bu also a e he people who
en e he mo ie as cha ac e - igu es, bu ha quickly econ igu e hemsel es as
cha ac e s-people, om he ic ional o m hey pass o he eal o m and
h ough i c ea e a new igu e-speech, he speech-c isis, which in udes and
wea es i s own eal able on o he ic ional ilm.
The ic ion ollows he icissi udes o a syndicalis named Luís (Ad iano Luz), a
ne ous man, explosi e and su e ing om achyca dia’s, di ided be ween he
i s need o calm his own hea a e - and his own imagina y, made o whale
in e io s - and a second one, o inance he eeding o he annual "Ba h o he
Magni icen ", he i s collec i e ma ine ba h ha akes place e e y Janua y 1s .
He is a sea-and-sand man, a hick swea e use wi h a wind-bea en ace, a
classis and ocalize o all class s uggles, bu he is also aken by his appa en
inabili y o pie ce his own melancholy. The woes o o he s a lic him. He is he
igu e who guides us h ough he ic ion and i is he who opens he doo o he
igu es o he eal, li e ally.
These pe sons, whom he ilm calls "Magni icen ", knock on he doo o he union
headqua e s. Luis opens i . To he i s , he o e s ea. He d inks i . P esen s
himsel : "comme cial di ec o o p o ession, unemployed by condi ion". Soon one
cu s om he cha ac e /ac o o ano he egime o images, no mo e image-
able, bu image-speech. He ells o his eal s o y: he loss o employmen in he
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company ha he helped o g ow, he loss o sa ings due o he need o sol e a
loan he has endo sed, he deli e y o he house o he bank and he e u n o
he land o his pa en s, he di icul y in inding employmen a he age o 50
yea s. As he speaks, he came a mo es on om a long sho o an medium close
sho , aw and clinical, wan ing o show and app oach he anguish, as eal and
clea as he eco d she ilms. La e , wo mo e speeches o "Magni icen " she
egis e s: ha o a couple, also unemployed, o ced o ood assis ance, o
aining cou ses, bu ce ain o hei mu ual lo e and spaces o conjunc ion. And
s ill ano he unemployed pe son o some du a ion, o b oken heal h, bu
con inced o he necessi y and u h o he ealiza ion o he human being
h ough wo k.
The h ee discou ses a e h ee acking sho s, a e sho s and images-du a ion o
wo ds ha a e pungency and o ce. While ilmic inlays o eal s o ies, hey shape
his o he need, ha o lea ing ali e he memo y o he su e ing, o hose who
ha e los wha hey had, all hose who a e beyond economic- inancial
calcula ions. This was he ilmic and aes he ic poli ics o Miguel Gomes, in his
sequence: o make i luid and clea , because i is he e, in wha is said, he
u h o wha happened, he c isis ha ook e e y hing away. The e is, howe e ,
some hing p o oundly posi i e and human abou hese discou ses. Belie in
some hing be e .
When one a i es a he eal "Ba h o he Magni icen " and in i he ac o s a e
in ol ed, no longe ep esen ing, bu being be ween, he sound disappea s, only
he wa e and he bodies a e le , looking and ges icula ing owa ds he came a,
b eaking he line be ween he ic ion and he documen a y, showing mo e han
jus le ing us see only a ilm.
Analysis Two: F om The 1001 Nigh s, Volume 2 - The Desola e One, he
sequence The Owne s o Dixie. I he p e iously analyzed sequence e e ed o a
hope, despi e all i s c udeness, hese one al eady has a wiligh image y. He e,
he igu e ha d i es he connec ions and econnec ions be ween he a ious
cha ac e s is ha o a small dog, named Dixie, who, h oughou he sequence,
mo es om owne , om loo o loo , om owe o owe , in a Lisbon’s