by Julian Wood
Worth: $19.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Fernanda Torres, Selton Mello, Valentina Herszage, Maria Manoella, Barbara Luz, Fernanda Montenegro
Intro:
Fernanda Torres gives a flawless rendition of a determined woman trying to hold it together and remain strong in the face of tightening contradictions.
People living in stable democracies tend to take the rule of law for granted. However, that is not the situation in a lot of countries, and the consequences of the removal of safeguards are alarming. Brazil, like many of its neighbours, has a history with these issues, including periods of military rule replete with oppression and state-authored violence. Once the Generals capture the state, things turn very quickly, and not for the better.
Brazilian director Walter Salles (Central Station, The Motorcycle Dairies) is the perfect choice to make this moving and engaged drama. Now in his late sixties, he has lived through the various eras of his country’s turbulent past. This seems like a very personal film, and he makes the events feel real by concentrating upon particular lives.
We follow the Pavia family. Rubens (Selton Mello) is an architect with a solid reputation and a good network of mostly left-leaning friends. His wife Eunice (Fernanda Torres) is busy with her own concerns, but her and Rubens are very close. They have three children, ranging in age from pre-to-late teens.
Salles is in no hurry in the first half hour of the film. We get to enjoy the family as they enjoy their lives. They do things together. There are picnics, visits to the beach and time to play with friends. It is hard not to love this family, which of course makes us care even more when events unfold.
Soon enough, there is that knock on the door. Suddenly, Rubens is snatched by state forces. They are chillingly confident and calm, but when Eunice and the teenage daughter push back, they find how implacable these new functionaries are. There are layers of violence that the family could not have imagined.
Salles sketches this in a way that is both shocking and real. He knows that he does not need to dwell on it to make us recoil. The ripples flow out from there. If this can happen to this family, how many others are vulnerable to this neo-fascist turn?
The film is beautifully realised in its craft. The soundscape is full of light and heavy moments that match the mood. The visual recreation of 1970s Brazil is seamlessly done, so we feel that we are in there with the family and not watching something distant and ‘historical’ (Salles leaves any real story elements to the end captions).
The last, and most important aspects, are the superb performances. All the supporting roles are perfectly cast with great contributions from the younger players. Mello doesn’t have that much screen time, but he conjures Rubens as an honourable man with great economy.
However, it is Eunice’s story all the way. Fernanda Torres gives a flawless rendition of a determined woman trying to hold it together and remain strong in the face of tightening contradictions. You can’t take your eyes off her and you go with Eunice every step of the way. (There is also, incidentally, a moving cameo form her real-life mother Fernanda Montenegro as the much older Eunice). Torres has a front runner Oscar nod for this work and indeed it is hard to think of a better screen performance this year. Try and catch the film in time to (hopefully) cheer her on.
