The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão is a Brazilian drama film directed by Karim Aïnouz and adapted from the novel of the same name by Martha Batalha. The film takes place in the 1950s in Rio de Janeiro and revolves around the lives of two sisters, Guida and Eurídice Gusmão.
Guida gets pregnant at a young age and runs away from home to marry her lover, only to be abandoned shortly after. She struggles to make ends meet and is forced to give up her child for adoption. Eurídice, on the other hand, is raised to be invisible and obedient, spending much of her time learning to play the piano while dreaming of studying music in Vienna.
The sisters' lives are marked by a series of tragedies and missed opportunities. Guida becomes a seamstress and starts a new life with a man she loves, but is tragically separated from him. Eurídice marries a man chosen by her father, but is forbidden from pursuing her musical ambitions. As the years go by, the sisters grow more distant from each other, unable to share their dreams and struggles.
The film explores themes of female oppression, motherhood, and the pursuit of individual freedom. It also paints a vivid portrait of Rio de Janeiro in the 1950s, a time of rapid social change and political upheaval in Brazil. The performances by the lead actresses, Carol Duarte as Eurídice and Julia Stockler as Guida, have been praised for their emotional depth and sensitivity. The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão won the Un Certain Regard prize at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, as well as several other awards at international film festivals.
