The Arabian Nights: Volume 2, The Desolate One

We conclude our series Beyond Aladdin: The Thousand and One Nights on Film with Portuguese filmmaker Miguel Gomes’s ambitious trilogy that transports the tales’ narrator, Scheherazade, to modern Portugal. There, she weaves a tapestry of stories blending comedy, emotion, and documentary. Though they work together as a trilogy, each film stands alone.
An oddball playfulness undergirded by darkness pervades the second volume. It begins with the story of an escaped serial killer who becomes a folk hero by evading the police in ever more ludicrous ways (including teleportation!). In the spirit of The Thousand and One Nights’ narrative swerves, the film shifts to a judge overseeing a seemingly endless trial in which the crimes multiply into realms of the absurd. Finally, the story shifts again to a poodle looking for a new owner in a chaotic, rundown apartment complex.
Intended for mature audiences.
Cost: free, register in advance recommended.
Image courtesy of Kino Lorber.
Director: Miguel Gomes. Countries: Portugal, Germany, France, Switzerland. Released: 2015. Length: 131 min. Format: DCP. Languages: Portuguese, English, French, German, and Mandarin with English subtitles.