There are many ways to get to know a place. Ask a group of people who know Venice; chances are good that everyone has some mental image of the city and its canals. Once again, ask how many have already visited the Venetian capital. Few or no one may have done so. While traveling is a complete way to experience a place, it's not the only way - images of cities, areas and buildings are everywhere, from advertising to the arts, from Instagram to cinema, and they leave deep impressions on our memory and imagination.
In films, cities and buildings are fundamental to the narrative. They can be a simple background, a supporting, or even the main character. Juhani Pallasmaa informs us that cinema and architecture are artistic expressions with a common goal: articulate lived spaces. Although this is not the only point of contact between these two arts, it is enriching for our profession to think in these terms. We design spaces that will serve as shelter for humans. Beyond that, places where life, with all its emotions, will unfold - just like a movie unfolds.
The phenomenology of this reflection brings the image of the house very intensely. It is a place where one can dream in peace, Gaston Bachelard concludes, but beyond that, it is in the house that all other aspects of human life are expressed with more intensity. Thus, one can imagine the importance of the house in the cinematographic narrative: we have, in general, about 90 minutes to know the lives of the character. Therefore, every element presented in the film - architecture, above all - has narrative value.
Get to know six houses through the cinema. The residences are not only locations for the films but also tell the narratives of each cinematographic work.
Villa Malaparte (Adalberto Libera) in Contempt (Jean-Luc Godard, 1963)
A classic by Jean-Luc Godard, Contempt has the famous Villa Malaparte not just as a location but also as an active element of the plot. Located in Punta Massulto, on the island of Capri, the house is an emblematic example of Italian modernism, unmistakable for its stepped roof and reddish walls.
Watch the trailer here.
Goldstein House (John Lautner) in The Big Lebowski (Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, 1998)
Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright disciple John Lautner, the Goldstein House is one of the most striking locations for the Coen Brothers' Lebowski. Home to adult film producer Jackie Treehorn, played by Ben Gazzara, the building is easily recognizable by its sloping concrete roof marked by a triangular pattern. The house is located in Beverly Crest, but in the movie, it is in Malibu.
Watch the trailer here.
Casa Chemosphere (John Lautner) in Body Double (Brian De Palma, 1984)
Another John Lautner house that serves as a location in a classic movie is the Chemosphere House, unmistakable for its circular geometry that is reminiscent of a flying saucer or a utopian and pop vision of modern habitats. Designed in the 1960s and located in Los Angeles, it is part of the narrative of Brian De Palma's Body Double and was redecorated with 80s elements for the movie.
Watch the trailer here.
Casa Cavanelas (Oscar Niemeyer) in Reaching for the Moon (Bruno Barreto, 2013)
Reaching for the Moon tells the story of the architect, landscaper and urban planner Lota de Macedo Soares, one of those responsible for the construction of Flamengo Park in Rio de Janeiro, and the award-winning American poet Elizabeth Bishop. One of the film's locations is Casa Cavanelas, designed by Oscar Niemeyer in Petrópolis. Although it is a good opportunity to see the residence, there is a historical mistake in the plot: the house that should have been shown is the residence that Sérgio Bernardes designed for Lota Macedo Soares, at Fazenda Samambaia, in Petrópolis, in 1951.
Watch the trailer here.
Edifício Louveira (Vilanova Artigas) in De Onde Eu Te Vejo (Luiz Villaça, 2016)
Besides presenting several fragments from the central region of São Paulo, De Onde Eu Te Vejo features a famous building by Vilanova Artigas, the Louveira. The film's protagonist lives in the building, and her ex-husband moves to the front building right in front of it, which is also modern; part of the narrative unfolds from the indiscretion of the large modernist windows.
Watch the trailer here.
Villa Överby (John Robert Nilsson Arkitektkontor) in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (David Fincher, 2011)
Designed by John Robert Nilsson Arkitektkontor, Villa Överby - a 250m² glass house located on a hillside near the Swedish capital, Stockholm - is one of the locations for David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Watch the trailer here.
