From Peripheral to Cosmopolitan. The Crisis-Images in Miguel Gomes Arabian Nights

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 NOTES ON EUROPE. The Dogma ic Sleep P oceedings. Po o, Oc obe 29-31 2019 169 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 Luis Mi anda, FROM PERIPHERAL TO COSMOPOLITAN: The C isis-Images in Miguel Gomes A abian Nigh s 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 NOTES ON EUROPE. The Dogma ic Sleep P oceedings. Po o, Oc obe 29-31 2019 171 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 172 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. NOTES ON EUROPE. The Dogma ic Sleep P oceedings. Po o, Oc obe 29-31 2019 173 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 NOTES ON EUROPE. The Dogma ic Sleep P oceedings. Po o, Oc obe 29-31 2019 175 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