THE PERIOD AND THE GENERAL LINES INSPIRING THE SCENIC ASPECTS
The Art Direction of A Country Doctor applied the underlying visual concepts of the film in the form of different objects, colours and textures. No single detail is there merely by chance. Everything is imbued with meaning, purpose and inspiration.
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Dr. Samuel Baum (Alfredo Borba) contemplates loneliness.
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The fact that the action of the film takes place in the past is immediately apparent in the sets, costumes, props, and the absence of electricity or any other modern amenities like cars.
The way the film has been constructed makes it possible to find in it, a variety of different pasts depending on the feelings of each spectator because the period it takes place in is not defined with any great precision. According to Claudio Fernandes, “the story unfolds in a rural location where the seventies are just as distant as the fifties, thirties or even the turn of the century.”
Art Director Sephora Silva tell us that: “One important thing is that the director of the film knew exactly what he wanted in terms of Art. We do not re-create the scenarios, we create them. That is why we work with a minimalist concept but without necessarily being completely minimalist in everything. Less is more, but in our case that ‘less’ had to be particularly special in some detail or another.”
Suitcase with medical instruments and vintage drawer.
Some of the props were conceived specifically to contribute to the composition of the particular ‘past’ that has been captured by the film: the doctor’s instruments, the carriage, the water bowl, cutlery and tableware, the candelabras and the oil lamps, candles and simple wick lamps. During the pre-production phase those objects were de-territorialized but when they came together in the composition of the film they became re-territorialized in composing the universe of a virtual past. As a result it proved possible to achieve such an intense chromatic harmony that the props and the costumes become almost invisible in an overall view but dramatically present when seen in isolation.
In Claudio Fernandes’s view, “the dramatic power of this film will spring from the attention given to detail in the same way that Kafka obtained it in his literature.”
Pallet of Colours
Various tonalities of skin colour. The colours used are white, cream, tones of cotton, browns (wood), grays and moss greens.
Júlia, Janice and Maju (D. Silverina, mãe do paciente) show off the costume design.
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Special Makeup Effects
Obviously makeup plays a fundamental role in creating the characters. Each individual bead of sweat can make a difference to a scene. Very little alteration to the actors’ original features was attempted but each face, pair of hands and skin received the delicate attention of Lúcio Galvão who had to call on all his experience to concoct a special makeup effect namely, the sore (wound) of Dr. Baum’s patient.
Séphora Silva, art director, and Lúcio Galvão, make-up, work on the patient.
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Pouring Rain…
The film opens with a heavy downpour on a summer’s night. One of the challenges associated to the stable scenes and to the arrival of the messenger at Dr. Baum’s home was exactly that: how to simulate the effect of torrential rain in the two different locations.
Thales Junqueira, art assistant, tests one of the hose nozzles.
