agmtw logo
search

Elena (2012)

Elena (2012)

7.6

A cinematic portrayal of sisterhood

Movie

Brazil, United States of America
English, Portuguese
Documentary, Drama, Thriller
2012

What it's about

Petra heads to New York in search of her older sister after a long time of being separated. They are both movie actresses and heirs of the wounds of the Brazilian dictatorship. But Petra has only a few clues: home movies, newspaper clippings, a diary...

The take

Filmmaker Petra Costa tells the story of moving to New York from Brazil to follow her dream, the same one her mother once followed, of becoming an actress.

She carries memories of a third person who made the same move, a sister called Elena. Elena left her when she was seven-years-old, and after intermittent calls and messages, disappeared.

This documentary is a tale of three women: of their feelings separation, longing, and ambition. It’s made to be a visual poem of their story.

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

The Edge of Democracy (2019)

Mixing personal history with hardcore journalism, this is the story of Brazil's fragile democracy.

9.0

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022)

An excellent two-hander about sex work and aging

8.1

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021)

A small film with grand, important ideas about life, love, and family

8.0

The Two Popes (2019)

An insightful peek into the papacy led by equally compelling performances

7.9

Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)

A gay man and a political prisoner change each other's lives through their stories in this wonderfully made drama

7.8

Saint Omer (2022)

The complexities of humanity are tackled in this profound, poetic, and immensely powerful French film

9.0

Tabu (2012)

Miguel Gomes recreates cinema’s selective memory for Europe’s colonial past in this unconventional black-and-white romance

7.6

A Short Film About Love (1988)

A mystifying character study that flips the voyeur fantasy on its head

7.4

Anora (2024)

An exciting and heartbreaking fairy tale with a modern, class-centric twist

9.0

Once Were Warriors (1994)

A Maori family survives in an alienating Auckland in this raw, tragic drama

8.0

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.