In the film Aquarius, directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, the character Clara, played by Sônia Braga, refuses to sell her apartment—located in a condominium building—to a real estate developer. Her neighbors, on the other hand, accept the deal. In an article for Estadão, economist Pedro Fernando Nery views the case through a lens opposite to the cinematic narrative: instead of a hero resisting unscrupulous real estate capital with no respect for Recife's coastal landscape, Clara is actually the villain.
By blocking the redevelopment of the small 18-unit building into a taller tower with more units and floor area, she would be preventing an increase in housing supply in a well-located area of the city, pushing potential future residents further away.
