Once Upon a Time Was I, Veronica

Newly-minted psychiatrist Veronica is trying to get to know herself. She has a job at a hospital and girlfriends to party with; she's ready for life to begin. But Veronica is a thinker, and the impersonality of existence is taking its toll. Veronica has a recorder into which she describes her feelings of ennui. She is scared about the future like everyone else. Her beloved dad is ill. She vents her feelings of crisis through the pursuit of carnal pleasure, and the water and hot sun of the Recife beach are distractions from daily life. But her brain keeps getting in the way. Her patients are distressingly dysfunctional: they're too hot; they can't sleep; their lives are out of control. Veronica can't escape the sense of loss invading her own soul, much less help all these agonized creatures. An intimate character study built around a stunning central performance by Hermila Guedes, ONCE UPON A TIME WAS I, VERONICA won five top awards at Brazil's national film festival. (In Portuguese with subtitles) – B.B.