Resumen

In this article I propose to relate the works, apparently quite distinct, of two cinema professionals, the Brazilian documentarist Eduardo Coutinho and the American ficcional screenwriter Charlie Kaufman. More specifically, I will focus on the characters featured in their films. When interviewing ordinary people, Coutinho is able to reveal a certain character that those people try to create. With great ability, he exposes their souls, their truths. Fernando Andacht, Coutinho’s great scholar disagrees with the filmmaker himself by stating that his interviewees are not characters, they remain real, authentic people. Kaufman is capable of creating complex characters by nature, far removed from the typical Hollywood heroes who obey the script manuals and Christopher Vogler’s hero’s journey. Some try to show power, integrity, smartness, but in the course of the stories, the fragility and vulnerability of all of them becomes very exposed, in the same way revealing their authenticity. This way I argue that both Coutinho and Kaufman are able to reflect on human behavior. To the point that, in absolutely different ways, they reach similar goals, I even say complementary goals.