'Eduardo and Monica' movie gets release date for 2022

After having its launch postponed for almost 2 years due to the Coronavirus pandemic, 'Eduardo and Monica'freely inspired by the song of the same name by Legião Urbana, has been given a new release date of January 6, 2022 in Brazilian cinemas.

The feature film was recorded in 2018 and its original release date was set for 2020. It was directed by René Sampaio and produced by Bianca de Felippes. Renato Russo's characters are played by the young veteran Gabriel Leone and the world-renowned actress Alice Braga. In addition to the protagonists, the cast includes names such as Bruna Spínola, Victor Lamoglia, Fabrício Oliveira, Otávio Augusto and Digão Ribeiro.

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Unlike the dense and complex plot of 'Western Country'another feature film directed by Sampaio and based on Legião Urbana, 'Eduardo and Monica' brings the lightness and subtlety of a love between two completely different people.

Just like in the verses, Eduardo, 16 years old, was still about to pass the college entrance exam and Mônica, 25 years old, was studying medicine and spoke German. She liked Bandeira and Bauhaus, Van Gogh and Os Mutantes, Caetano and Rimbaud, while he liked soap operas and playing table football with his grandfather. Mônica talked about magic and meditation and Eduardo was still in the mood for school, movies, clubs and television. All the adversities are key points for this couple to be one of the most inhabited in the imagination of Brazilians.

_{Watch the trailer for 'Eduardo and Monica' (Reproduction/YouTube)}

Director René Sampaio, Gabriel Leone and Alice Braga, present at CCXP Worlds, the online version of the event, held in 2020, spoke about their personal relationships with Legião Urbana. Leone admitted to being a big fan and having listened to the band since he was very young: “I would say that Renato Russo is one of my favorite poets, in addition to the entire band. So for me it was very special to be able to give life to a character that came from Renato’s head, from his soul.”

For Alice, the biggest challenge as Monica was precisely the fact that she is a figure already present in the collective imagination of the Brazilian people. Bringing Monica to life would mean bringing a specific face to something that has been “abstract” for more than thirty years. Furthermore, the actress added that the differences between the couple are a link, not a barrier: “Their difference unites them, it does not cause the rupture.”

The film was set in Brasília in 1986, exactly as in the song. The decision, for the director and producer, was a way of respecting the context in which Renato lived. The singer lived in the federal capital since he was 13 years old. The choice of the time frame is also important for the narrative.

_{Gabriel and Alice in 'Eduardo and Monica' (Photo: Reproduction/G1)}

“The song covers a long period of time, up until the moment they have children. It would take two hours or a long music video with time jumps to cover it all, but that would be a trap. The film might not be able to delve deeper into the characters.”Leone began. “That’s why we focus on building relationships and daily coexistence between them.”, continued the protagonist.

“There was no Tinder, WhatsApp or so much immediacy in the 1980s. Conversations were almost always in person, which gives a particular tone to the story. Relationships were, in a way, more important. You had to take more care to maintain them.”said René, who was also born in Brasília.

After much anticipation, there are only two months left until the premiere of the film, which, like the song, has everything it needs to conquer Brazil. The production was shown at festivals such as Miami Film Festival and Edmonton International Film Festival, and was awarded Best International Drama Film. 'Eduardo and Monica' will arrive in all cinemas in Brazil on January 6, 2022.

Featured photo: Alice Braga and Gabriel Leone as Monica and Eduardo. Reproduction/Instagram