Fernando Meirelles
The Constant Gardener

After the emotional heights of "City Of God", Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles returns behind the camera, tackling a subject drawn from the novel "The Constant Gardener" by John Le Carrè. The story narrates the life of English diplomat Justin (Ralph Fiennes) who, together with his wife Tessa (Rachel Weisz), initiates a series of efforts to improve the conditions of African populations, on whom large pharmaceutical companies experiment new drugs. Tessa's uncomfortable position towards these big industries leads to her death, and her husband strives in every way to get to the root of it all, eventually uncovering rampant corruption and inhumane working methods...

A complex and intricate plot for "The Constant Gardener", halfway between drama, romance, and investigative thriller. Meirelles focuses heavily on the actors and elaborates on their love story, integrating other implications of the film, which unfold in a fan-like manner to fit into each other. Indeed, the search for the instigator of the murder, along with the revelations about what's behind the pharmaceutical companies, are intertwined until they create a sometimes difficult thread to unravel, but functional to the message the film conveys. There are interests and complications behind the big businesses of these industries, many of which will never be made public. The ethical plan is entirely at the mercy of the business one, and humans become guinea pigs for testing drugs that are not yet codified and therefore potentially harmful to the organism.

This message of denunciation goes hand in hand with a decidedly less emphatic message, that of ecology, which can be perceived in the importance the protagonist places on plants, one of his favorite hobbies. A parallelism found also in their love story: when Justin and Tessa are in the city or at home, the cinematography becomes grim, gray, reflecting their moods, which, despite a strong underlying bond, always seem distant from each other. When it shifts to the African landscapes (magnificent), the cinematography assumes colors so vivid they seem to live on the edge of the screen, imparting a sense of hope and austerity at the same time. Much credit for this is due to the work of Cesar Charlone.

Of notable intensity are also the performances of Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz, who portray two challenging characters, just as the theme tackled is not easy and somewhat unconventional.

"The Constant Gardener," although at times it verges on the sentimental and may come across as dull in certain parts, is in my opinion a completely successful film dealing with "hot" topics through a sharp and at times even documentary style.

"Adam was God's first draft, but the true work of art is Eve."

Academy Award 2006 for Best Supporting Actress (Rachel Weisz).