With expired film stock, seemingly random shots, not much dialogue, and virtually no plot, there is little to recommend It is Night in America for casual viewing. It is definitely experimental, and as director, editor, and sound designer Ana Vaz presents these shots of animals and urban landscapes, it doesn’t feel like it’s meant for entertainment. But there’s a curiously poignant tone, with the blue tint darkening the cityscape, in their eyes. Night falls for these creatures, who once had a home in this city, and all they can do is survive. É Noite na América isn’t quite the eco-horror it proclaims to be, but its moody and trancelike direction is an interesting approach to the nature documentary genre.
In Brasília, the modern capital of Brazil, an anteater is found dead by the side of a road, a boa constrictor wanders across the suburbs, and foxes prowl vacant streets. Meanwhile, in the city zoo—home to hundreds of displaced and rescued wild species—the animals look back at us humans.
In Brasília, some animals roam urban landscapes, and are caught and transferred to the city zoo, where they stare back at human visitors.
The direction. The film is shot entirely on 16mm film stock and tinted blue like in old films. Of course, with animals as the main subject, there’s almost no dialogue, but the bringing back of this old, slowly disappearing style seems to mirror the ways these endangered species die in Brasília and most urban cities.
It’s not quite scary, but it’s certainly interesting, if a bit structureless.
