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Leave the World Behind (2023)
A sad attempt to make a movie.
There's little to say about this product. No story, no characters, no one to root for or care. Laughable attempts of suspense, dizzing photography that thinks it's cool, terrible editing and structure.
It feels like a 90-minute script that was streched as much as possible to fit the two and a half hours mark for no reason, quickly put together with a few big name actors to atract eyes, and that's it. This thing is closer to a product than a film, saddly - no poetry, no art, no subtleness or care, heart, a story to tell. Netflix is know for publishing trash most of the time, but this one is specially mediocre. Not worth a watch even for the curious, I strongly recommend to go watch something else.
Napoleon (2023)
Many subjects, great at none of them.
This movie had great potential of thriving in at least one of three things: fun, historical accuracy and a heart. It's sad to see that Mr. Scott chose to embrace none of them, instead walking towards a visual spectacle empty of a soul.
While technically impressive, with huge battles with thousands of men, good photography, amazing acting and costume design and great sound, the movie is just that - a technical feat, threading many subjects while not able to choose none of them. It's a production that would be fine if aired as a TV mini-series in History Channel, if not by the great visuals and acting, but lacking greatly as a story within the huge scope of what could be told and explored.
It is impressive that a movie huge as this one is was directed by Mr. Scott, and I do enjoy how the movie portrays Bonaparte not as a hero or god but as a frail, insecure man, but saddly this movie doesn't leave a mark, or tear, or a story at the end. The greatest movie never made remains, well... never made.
Life in a Day 2020 (2021)
Perfect.
For what this movie proposes itself to do, it accomplishes it in a beaultiful result. If movies are the best of way of telling stories, this one does that in the most wonderful way - visiting all the corners of humanity and their tales in a well crafted way. I recommend this for everyone.
M8 - Quando a Morte Socorre a Vida (2019)
Se preocupa com o mundo dos vivo, porque só isso já dá trabalho
M8 is an incredible story, told by the equally wonderful vision of Jefferson De.
From the story told to photography and score, M8 hooks the viewer in a contemporary and extremely relevant narrative, rooted in social and cultural contrasts, with an extremely well-built atmosphere of uneasiness and tension.
Although De's perspective with this narrative is undeniably well-crafted, impressively filmed and responsible for bringing important discussions to light, it has some deep lackins - not in the story or production in any way, but mainly in editing structure, I've found.
It gets very confusing and rushed at times. We have no clear trigger from the story-telling view point to transition from Mauricio-university freshman to Mauricio-intestigator, giving the impression that the story is guiding the character just to get where it wants to be, rather than the opposite. Editing gets all over the place in random moments as well, like showing Mauricio kissing in the car from nowhere, just after a scene that promised being dramatic and serious; or when Mauricio's friend presents to us his boyfriend - a scene filmed to give us the impression that this new character will mean something greater to the story later, when he won't, really. After believing so many times that a certain part of the story is relevant, and said part isn't, the viewer can get a bit tired.
Apart from the general editing, the movie is incredible! The main character's acting was perfect, with a special notice to the mother's acting being worthy of every praise of talent and execution. These qualities aren't equal in every actor, some being a bit over the top (some under).
Overall, it's a wonderful film to have in brazilian cinema, surely a bright sign of new stories that can be beaultifully told, worthy of every minute of attention and watching care. I'm excited to see what new expressions we'll see from this team of artists, teaching us how to see the narrative of life. M8 is a must-watch film, and I recommend it to everyone.
The Edge of Democracy (2019)
A great review of our history, although not an imparcial one
It's beautiful to get to see a brazilian-produced documentary about brazilians, made with such responsible care throughout decades of filming.
What lacks in this film, I think, are basically two things. Not in production or structure, in any way, but in narrative.
At the same time that Petra's perspective of brazilian society adds to the experience of the movie, like her interesting backstory and presence in important political moments (awesomely shown), I feel like a certain degree of a clearer impartiality would really benefit the story that is told.
Of course that, being a personal telling of Brazil's history like this movie is, will inevitably include opinions, which are fairly presented. But I can't help but to think that watching a little more of the other side of the political scandals, against the subjects of the film for example, would really be of benefit - not only to the movie to be it's best and completest version it can be (by showing how complicated "choosing a side" can be), but concomitantly inviting a wider public that can watch and rate it fairly, and discuss more easily by having both sides widely expressed.
The second lacking, in a way, is the proposal of many unanswered questions.
Probably it is intentional. Maybe by the fact that the story told in this documentary isn't yet completed in reality, and most of the questions are still unanswerable today; or maybe because of the willingness of the director to portray this political scenery in a personal way, proposing that the narrator wants to show it hasn't means to respond to what will happen. Either way, some answers would enrich, I think, the narrative.
Being a Brazilian myself, with a burning love for cinema, getting impressed by the quality of filmmaking and real moments, portrayed in a production from where I come from, was a really awesome feeling - although this film has a bit too much filming of Brasilia's buildings and beauty-shots.
The technical aspects of the film are impressive, even more by the content of rare moments of our recent history - a feeling of "being there" I don't get since watching Poitras' Academy-awarded "Citizenfour".
It's really worth it to watch this film, even if you disagree with the points presented. To admire the handling of a great filmmaker, that has great patience and structure to tell a perspective. This movie is a bright sign in the future of brazilian cinema.