VIFF 2012 Review: Neighbouring Sounds

It helps to know a little about the legacy of slavery and class conflict in Brazil to completely get this ominous yet light-touched drama that gradually connects people of all strata in a seemingly quiet neighbourhood of Recife, where abandoned sugar plantations and ad-hoc slums contain histories that can suddenly return to life. Perhaps too subtle for some, the film melds mysterious shocks and amusing ironies.

Granville, September 27 (9 p.m.), October 1 (3:15 p.m.) and 3 (10:30 a.m.).