The First Death of Joana

I don’t know what this movie’s title is on about. The First Death of Joana gave me life! (I am so sorry.)

13 year old Joana’s Aunt Rosa dies. Joana is struck by how Rosa’s corpse is made up despite Rosa not wearing makeup in life. Joana also begins to fixate on the fact that Aunt Rosa never had a boyfriend. She brings this up more than once to her friend, Carolina. Aunt Rosa’s love life becomes a bit of a fixation for Joana. While she explores her own burgeoning romantic interest, she continues to ask her family members about dateless Aunt Rosa.

The First Death of Joana is a coming-of-age film about early discovery of sexuality. This is a genre I can tire of. But my tired complaints aren’t relevant here. This movie has more going on then some of the weaker coming-of-age films. It’s also beautifully shot, but I consider that an expectation of the genre. No, what elevates this one are the themes that run deeper than just a young girl considering that kissing other girls might be the life for her.

I adore the way that The First Death of Joana treats death and memory. Joana’s first observation is that Rosa’s corpse wears make-up while she didn’t in life. Joana sees, but doesn’t understand how people are treated in death. They become not themselves, but the version of themselves remembered or even constructed by those left living. Perhaps Joana does it too. Aunt Rosa’s lack of boyfriends becomes a touchstone for Joana’s own explorations. But maybe Rosa wasn’t sapphic like Joana seems to be. Maybe she was asexual or simply romantically unlucky. But in some ways, it stops mattering. Rosa’s dead and can’t speak for herself. Who Rosa is or “becomes” after death is completely constructed by everyone else, regardless of whether it’s true.

This theme of death and remembrance really adds weight to the story of a 13 year old girl. As much as she has such potential to become anything, she is also already a product of her environment and heritage. If Rosa was queer, that’s something kept from Joana. It could’ve been a needed puzzle piece in her own understanding of self. But generational silence and trauma take that from her. In addition to all of this, Joana’s family is of German heritage and living in Brazil. In this film that’s from Joana’s point of view, their German heritage is discussed, but never what caused the family to immigrate about three generations previously.

The First Death of Joana is a thoughtful and beautiful story that excellently handles the topic of a young girl exploring her sexuality. What really sets it apart for me is its themes of generations, family and how the living reconstruct a person to our specifications after death. This one gets a higher recommendation than most interchangeable coming-of-age films. Because this one found some themes that hadn’t already been mined to death by the subgenre.

Overall rating: 7.5/10

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