Actor Nelson Xavier Returns in 'Comeback' After Three-Year Hiatus, Credits Meditation for New Acting Approach

Nelson Xavier returns to cinema after a three-year hiatus, starring as retired hitman Amador in Erico Rassi's debut feature 'Comeback,' which opens commercially on the 25th. At 75, the veteran actor credits seven years of regular meditation for reinventing his approach to acting, providing a new sensitivity and freedom he experienced in his recent work. The film, set in the periphery of Anápolis, Goiás, follows Amador's mundane daily life after abandoning his former profession, now working as an intermediary for slot machine rentals and repairs in decaying bars. Xavier, who has appeared in landmark Brazilian films like 'Os Fuzis' (1964) and 'Eles Não Usam Black-Tie' (1981), won Best Actor at the 2016 Rio Festival for this role. Rassi drew inspiration from a real-life pool player named Carne Frita, with the film partially funded through crowdfunding and supported by a network of local collaborators in his hometown. The narrative explores themes of memory and relevance, as Amador maintains an album of newspaper clippings documenting his past violent crimes. The director describes the film as possessing elements of a western, set in a location where law and order are not fully established, with visual aspects of the periphery incidentally recalling that genre. Xavier emphasized in an interview the importance of meditation, which he began during lung cancer treatment, for enriching him both personally and in his capacity to handle the material of interpretation.