The Silence of the Oysters: The Ambition That Swallows Girls

In a scene from The Silence of the Oysters, Kaylane (Lavínia Castelari) watches a necklace of fake pearls being placed around her mother's neck. Cleude (Sinara Teles) then reveals her desire to leave the interior of Minas Gerais to access the stones produced by the oysters in the sea.

Driven by Kaylane's subjective perspective, the film directed and written by Marcos Pimentel tells the story of a girl who became a woman in the midst of predatory mining.

divulgação/Olhar Filmes

Childhood where the earth hurts

The mix of sweet and suffocating moments reveals the complexity of life that insists on existing amidst dangers. The songs and affection for animals are contrasted by the sense of fear created by the sound of metal, like a train or work tools.

The unique nature of a childhood spent in an environmentally degraded environment is also evident. Disobeying your mother about swimming in a particular lake goes beyond innocent disobedience and can result in burns caused by the presence of toxic substances in the water.

End of the adventure

Maturing doesn't lessen the risks for a woman. As she grows older, the character is played by Bárbara Colen and faces harassment from men who dominate not only her but also the rest of her working-class family.

The actress's performance is striking when her character is questioned by her brother about her desire to leave. Colen manages to convey, with just a glance, the contradiction between the desire to remain in her hometown and the need to seek a safer reality.

In a third moment of the film, Pimentel explores the melancholic perspective of an uplifting song. A song associated with Carnival takes on a sad tone to announce one of the world's greatest environmental crimes: the collapse of the Vale mining company's dams.

Where the pain flows

Thus, the film follows a post-apocalyptic story in which a people seek to rebuild themselves after witnessing their own histories dragged through the mud. And it's important to note how they ultimately find healing in the people who created that land.

The Silence of the Oysters is a powerful film that remains strong in the memory. When the credits rolled, some people still stared at the screen in astonishment, and even after a week, I was able to write about its details.

May people affected by mining not need to reach the sea for oysters to recognize their pain.