"Aulas que Matei" is an intriguing short film that knows how to captivate audiences both with its simplicty and with its strange and mysterious turn of events that don't
explain much yet it affects audiences in some way. Was it a just a drama with touches of suspense revolving the ordinary days of a school? A socially charged piece that later
a near sci-fi movie? All I can say was that the whole suspense was killing me each frame went by and it was very surreal how the sense of urgency for wanting things to happen
can control our senses with almost nothing happening on the screen. That was perfect.
The film is composed with magnificent static long shots, filming from the distance and barely giving proximity between audiences and the main characters, a whole
majority composed of actual students from a local high school in Brasília (the settings and location was so perfect that it feels like many schools from São Paulo area, or
even many schools from other states, so it's a story that could take place anywhere in Brazil). It's all natural and real almost as if seeing a documentary. The break from
the shots comes with a handy-held camera movement following one of the leads, a dedicated teacher and the small events that happen around him that goes from a visit by the
police force that interrupts his class; a possible teachers strike to get voted; and the disappearance from one of his students.
It's all in the little things that viewers will find clues to what's really going on between those events and also some tiny particles of random and
unexplained situations occuring on the place that will be slightly justified at the ending. (Pay attention to the garden vases, the noises and the few dialogues too). The creators
have an intent of breaking down genres and presenting a lot more than what meets the eye but that only works to careful viewers and not for those easily distracted.
Don't be afraid to feel confused or feeling as if you didn't get the picture. That's the real intent, to leave you uncomfortable, getting more questions than
answers and it's all out there to be discovered. It'll make you going back several times until you reach a conclusion. So, here's a work of art of which I can only present those admirable things and
leave you in suspense, curiosity and make you feel interested in the movie. Trust me, you'll feel rewarded later on. 9/10
P.S.: on a random note yet related to it since it's a calm and reflective experience, not sure how they did it but this movie is actually the first ever to make
me feel nostalgic about my high school days. And for a public school this was a quite perfect one.