Daniel (Antonio Saboia) finds himself stuck in a rut after being suspended from his job as a cop following an incident that left a colleague in a coma. Without work, he spends his days looking after his ailing father and exchanging messages with a woman called Sara (Pedro Fasanaro) that he meets online, but has never met in person. When Sara stops replying to his messages, Daniel impulsively sets off to track her down but what he’s about to find isn’t what he expects.
‘Private Desert’ is a film from writer and director Aly Muritiba set in Brazil. Much of the film’s first half focuses on Daniel, a man whose life is crumbling around him and all he has to hold on to is the ‘relationship’ he’s been enjoying via his smart phone. Unsure if he’ll ever be able to return to work, Daniel goes through the motions every day acting as the carer to his father and maintaining a fractious relationship with his sister, who seems happy to leave the care of their father to him.
It’s when Daniel goes off in search of Sara that things start to get interesting. At that point, the film switches from Daniel’s perspective to Sara’s. We see Sara, a trans-woman, having to live her true life in secret. By day she discards of her wig, clothes and make-up to be Robson, the boy she was born as and the society around her expects her to be. Living with her grandmother, Sara is forced to live as something she innately doesn’t feel she is, so for her, her relationship with Daniel is pure escapism.
Of course, the issue is that Daniel has no idea that Sara is transgender and that inevitable reveal is treated with a fairly heavy hand. In fact, Daniel’s reaction while understandable from the point of view that he’s been deceived, feels a little out-dated in a world where we’ve come to understand and treat people better. That clunky reveal undoes part of the film’s work to this point and it doesn’t add anything to the already unhelpful narrative that exists around trans people.
On the acting front Antonio Saboia is perfectly fine as Daniel, giving a brooding performance but able to peel back the layers of his character when necessary. Pedro Fasanaro gives a far more nuanced performance and their storyline as Sara is far more engaging. The two actors share some intense scenes together but both would have benefitted from a stronger script that stayed away from exhausted tropes.
Extras on the release include a making of featurette, an interview with Muritiba filmed in Venice, and a short called ‘The Factory’ from the director.
‘Private Desert’ has good intentions, I’m sure, but it doesn’t really add anything particularly positive to the transgender discussion. Daniel’s behaviour is largely predictable and a push for a happy ending feels far-fetched given the story that builds to the climax. I appreciate what Muritiba was trying to do but giving the perspectives of both Daniel and Sara muddies the waters for the viewer, and the essence of the story gets lost.
Cast: Antonio Saboia, Pedro Fasanaro, Thomas Aquino, Zezita Matos Director: Aly Muritiba Writers: Henrique Dos Santos & Aly Muritiba Certificate: 15 Duration: 116 mins Released by: Peccadillo Pictures Release date: 14th April 2023 (Peccadillo On Demand), 24th April (DVD & On Demand) Buy ‘Private Desert’ now
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