Starring Selton Mello as André and Raul Cortez as the Father, the film embraces the novel’s abstract nature. Carvalho uses a visual language of excess: the camera angles are Dutch and disorienting; the lighting is chiaroscuro, oscillating between blinding sunlight and shadowy candlelight. The film takes the book’s "song" and makes it visual.
The narrative is often viewed as a "dark version" of the biblical parable. Unlike the original, André's return home, prompted by his older brother Pedro, does not lead to redemption but to a shattering climax for the family. To the Left Of The Father aka Lavoura Arcaica
) is a landmark of Brazilian culture, existing both as a 1975 novel by Raduan Nassar and a critically acclaimed 2001 film adaptation by Luiz Fernando Carvalho Starring Selton Mello as André and Raul Cortez
