A Prisão

Main information

Date of Shooting:	July, 9th 1992
Date of Video Editing:	July, 10th 1992
Date of Audio Editing:	July, 11th 1992
Duration:	4min 30sec
Actors:	Rodrigo Lemes
	Thiago Bello Daldegan
	Tiago Cassoli
	Pedro Luís Bello Daldegan
Sound Track:	Gravitate to me (The The)
	including the ballad of 32 (Frankie Goes To Hollywood)

Synopsis

A man in jail, arrested for a crime he did not commit.

Some words about "A Prisão"

This film was first imagined when the director of Kobold was living in Germany. It was originally to be called Das Gefängnis (The Jail, in German). The plot was still vague, but it would be centered in a prison cell, in an attempt to make an introspective film.

In July 1992, it was decided to use part of this idea in what turned out to be the last koboldian movie.

The story was still centered in a prison cell. It starts with the prisoner remembering what brought him to this condition: some time after loosing a bet in a billiards game, he is found retrieving his money from the winner's corpse. But while in jail, another murder with the same modus operandi occurs. This sets him free, and ironically he becomes the next victim to the killer. Playing cards do the links between the crimes. An ace of hearts is found with the first corpse, and a two of hearts with the second. The third death is only suggested, when the real murderer gives a three of hearts to the recently released prisoner.

Prepoduction was somewhat improvised. The cell bars, for instance, are never shown because they did not exist. There were only their shadows, that were in fact the shadows of billiards sticks.

Although hardly having dialogues, this film is enriched by the same sound editing technique that was used in Spy Story. It contains expressionist sound effects that transport from one scene to another, providing a touch of unreality to the prisoner memories. Besides that, there is the sound track from The The.

To match this strange atmosphere, special lenses that blur the border of the image were used in the flash-back scenes.

Screenplay

A Prisão - Draft (Portuguese version only)

Screenshots Gallery