BLUE EYES AT THE BRAZILIAN FILM FESTIVAL

David Rasche and Cristina Lago
BLUE EYES
I enjoyed Blue Eyes (Olhos Azuis) at the Brazilian Film Festival.

It features a terrific performance by David Rasche, a seasoned American actor, brilliantly portraying a very complex and multi-faceted character, and a lovely performance by a charming Brazilian newcomer, Cristine Lado. The film is mostly in English, which Lado manages with appropriately accented conviction.

The script has an interesting structure: a melodramatic confrontation in the custom's holding area at JFK, intercut with a fairy-tale road trip in Brazil some time later.

Blue Eyes feels like it was written in retribution for some particularly unpleasant experience getting through customs into NY. The behaviour of the customs officers is unbelievably shocking and unprofessional. Unfortunately, the script is literally "unbelievable," so the over-the-top melodrama must be taken with a liberal dose of "suspension of disbelief."

Similarly, the young prostitute played by Lado, who guides the (now) ex-customs officer played by Rasche through Brasil has a "heart of gold," the soul and morals of an angel the detective skills of an efficient genius, and the face and figure to make "Pretty Woman" look dumpy. Nasty, sick, drunk, dirty old men don't usually get this lucky.

The film is slightly compromised by the blurb for it in the program and on IMDB which gives away too much and is confusing besides. On the other hand, the credits for the Brazilian actors on IMDB would benefit from more pictures and better bios.

Despite the lack of realism, melodrama can be fun, and fairy tales with beautiful women are even better. The outstanding acting also makes this a winner.

After the film, I stopped in at the Brazilian Film Festival lounge. Nice music, not too loud; full house but not crowded; and the actors were there, being friendly to all who wanted to talk. It was a great scene.

8TH CINE FEST PETROBRAS BRASIL

THE INFFINITO GROUP’S

8TH CINE FEST PETROBRAS BRASIL

JUNE 5TH – 12TH AT THE TRIBECA CINEMAS

CLOSING NIGHT FILM & SPECIAL PERFORMANCESUMMERSTAGE IN CENTRAL PARK FEATURING
TOP BRAZILIAN BAND PARALAMAS DO SUCESSO WITH SPECIAL GUEST MARIA GADU

Singer Maria Gadu

CELEBRATING THE BEST OF CURRENT BRAZILIAN CINEMA
AND HONORING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF BRASILIA
THE COUNTRY’S CAPITAL CITY

The CINE FEST PETROBRAS BRASIL is back for its eighth edition this year – June 5th thru June 12th. As always, the competitive screenings will take place at the Tribeca Cinemas while the annual outdoor spectacular at Summerstage, which usually opens the event, will take place this year as the Closing Night excitement. The 8TH CINE FEST PETROBRAS BRASIL is presented by the Inffinito Group.

The Festival will kick off at the Tribeca Cinemas on Saturday night, June 5th with the Opening Night film, THE WELL BELOVED ONE (O Bem Amado) (description below), and other screenings followed by a rollicking Brazilian party. For the next 7 days and nights, the most exciting cinema Brasil is producing will be on tap, followed each night by a reception complete with caphirinas and a hot Brazilian DJ. Many of the filmmakers and cast members from the 8th CINE FEST PETROBRAS BRASIL film presentations will be in New York to attend the festivities and participate in Q & A sessions following the films.

CATHEDRAL OSCAR NIEMEYER – LIFE IS A BREATH OF AIR

The Closing Night film on Saturday, June 12th, to be presented outdoors in Central Park at Summerstage, will be the documentary OSCAR NIEMEYER – LIFE IS A BREATH OF AIR (description below). But prior to the screening will be the exciting performance of one of Brasil’s top bands – PARALAMAS DO SUCESSO who will be performing with Special Guest Maria Gadu!!


PARALAMAS DO SUCESSO is the most successful Brazilian rock band with over 12 albums released and a strong international following. Formed in the early 80’s, its members are Herbert Vianna (guitar and lead vocals), Bi Ribeiro (bass), and João Barone (drums). In its beginning, the band combined reggae and ska with rock, but later added horn arrangements and Latin rhythms. The Paralamas are considered part of the “Brasilila Gang” and are one of the "Big Four" bands of Brazilian rock. MARIA GADU is one of the rising young stars of Brasil’s music scene. Only 22 years-old, this singer from Sao Paulo has easily won over the Brazilian public with her beautiful voice and compositions and now the international audience!!

This year’s CINE FEST PETROBRAS BRASIL will be paying homage to the country’s capital city – Brasilia – as it celebrates its 50th Anniversary. There will be an exhibition at the Tribeca Cinemas to illustrate the construction of the city by the very well-known architects Oscar Niemeyer and Lucio Costa. The celebration of the city continues with the Summerstage film & concert as both Paralamas do Successo and Maria Gadu hail from that city. And a number of the films and/or filmmakers are set or are from Brasil’s most modern city.

Tickets for the 8th CINE FEST PETROBRAS BRASIL are on sale at

http://www.ticketweb.com/ (enter PETROBRAS or TRIBECA CINEMAS in the search bar) and are $10 for each film.

Many special events are free. Check the phone number below for more information.

The 8th CINE FEST PETROBRAS BRASIL full program, film descriptions and ticket information can be found on

http://www.brazilianfilmfestival.com/
ENGLISH: http://www.brazilianfilmfestival.com/ny_en.html

or by calling 646-827-9333.



PROGRAM – NARRATIVE

BLUE EYES (Olhos Azuis), Narrative / 2009, Directed by José Joffily, featuring David Rasche, Cristina Lago, Irandhir Santos, Erica Gimpel, Frank Grillo, Valéria Lorca, Pablo Uranga, Branca Messina, Hector Bordoni, Everaldo Pontes, Zezita Matos and Fernando Teixeira. Marshall, chief immigration officer of New York’s JFK Airport faced a compulsory retirement. On his last day of work, drunk and blinded by prejudice he harasses a group of Latin American visitors and exposes them to a series of humiliating events that result in the death of a young Brazilian. Years later, after serving a lengthy prison term and filled with guilt, Marshall goes to Brasil in search of the victim’s daughter and is guided by the young, Bia.


CABEÇA A PRÊMIO, Drama / 2009, Directed by Marco Ricca and starring Alice Braga, Daniel Hendler, Fúlvio Stefanini, Otavio Muller, Eduardo Moscovis, Cássio Gabus Mendes, Ana Braga, Via Negromonte and Cesar Troncoso. Decadence, power, betrayal. Three stories get intertwined in the arid border landscape – the end of the line where Brasil, Paraguay, and Bolivia meet. A land of strayed away, forgotten, disillusioned characters. An important cattle farmer and smuggler, his impulsive daughter in love with the father’s airplane pilot, and the gunman, who ordered to bring her back – himself victim of a love story.


ELVIS & MADONA, Comedy / 2010, Directed by Marcelo Laffitte, featuring Igor Cotrim, Simone Spoladore, Sérgio Bezerra, Maitê Proença, Buza Ferraz, José Wilker, Alexandre da Costa, and others. A romantic comedy that deals with an unusual subject in a delicate and realistic way: a love story between young lesbian, Elvis and a transvestite, Madona. The story takes place in Copacabana, in Rio de Janeiro. The screenplay comprehends a full array of human types and, by following the journey of both protagonists, illustrates the conflicts generated by the evolution of behavior and custom. It is a modern and agile picture, and its soundtrack will follow the latest musical trends. Nevertheless, it is essentially a love story, proving that love can exist in any situation.


LOVE STORIES LAST ONLY 90 MINUTES (Histórias de Amor Duram Apenas 90 Minutos), Narrative / 2010, Directed by Paulo Halm, featuring Caio Blat, Maria Ribeiro, Luz Cipriota, Daniel Dantas and Lucia Bronstein. Zeca, a young writer, immersed in a novel he cannot write, lives an idle life. He is 30 years old, but behaves like a teenager. He is talented, but unfocused: he’ll write two sentences, then abandon the work. He has a strained relationship with his wife Julia, as a result of their antagonistic temperaments: Zeca is unmotivated, while Julia knows exactly what she wants. Zeca is unhappy, but appeased. Until the day that he starts to believe that Julia is cheating on him. And, much to his dismay, with another woman.


SO NORMAL 2 (Os Normais 2), Narrative / 2009, Directed by José Alvarenga Jr., featuring Danielle Winits, Drica Moraes, Cláudia Raia, Daniele Suzuki, Mayana Neiva, Alinne Moraes, and Daniel Dantas. It’s a mistake to think that Rui and Vani’s saga had come to an end. Luiz Fernando Guimarães and Fernanda Torres bring back their outstanding characters in Os Normais. Just like in TV Globo's series and in the first feature film, a good laugh is guaranteed when the couple decides spice up their relationship and goes after someone to join them in this adventure.

SUNSTROKE (Insolação), Romance / 2009, Directed by: Felipe Hirsch and Daniela Thomas, featuring Paulo José, Antonio Medeiros, Simone Spoladore, Leonardo Medeiros, André Frateschi, Maria Luisa Mendonça, Leandra Leal, Jorge Emil, Daniela Piepszyk and Emilio di Biasi. Sunstroke tells stories of unrequited Love. “Love and loss. Loss, mostly”, says a character. In an empty city, scorched by the Sun, the young and old confuse the fever of sunstroke with the delicate birth of passion. Like ghosts, they hover through buildings and endless flatland in search of the ever elusive Love. Inspired by 19th century Russian short stories, the plots weave and unravel together in the improbable city of Brasília – a distorted mirror-image of the soviet utopia – located in the heart of the Brazilian desert. Paulo José, the actor whose life is intertwined with the history of Brazilian cinema, plays Andrei, the nostalgic witness of these stories.

TIME OF PEACE (Tempos de Paz), Drama / 2009, Directed by Daniel Filho, featuring Tony Ramos, Dan Stulbach, Daniel Filho, Louise Cardoso, Ailton Graça, Anselmo Vasconcelos, Ewa Stulbach, and others. The whole story takes place on the 18th of April in the year 1945. The battles had ceased in Europe, but Brasil still found itself technically at war. The encounter between the interrogator, a customs official and former-torturer for the Political Police of President Vargas and a Polish ex-actor who had lived the horrors of war but was suspected of being a Nazi fugitive, takes place in the Rio de Janeiro port immigration office. The film portrays a critical period of Brazilian history and speaks of Manichaeism and of fighting for life.


THE WELL BELOVED ONE (O Bem Amado), Comedy / 2010, Directed by Guel Arraes, featuring Marco Nanini, Matheus Nachtergaele, José Wilker, and others. Based on the literary work of Dias Gomes, O Bem Amado tells the story of the mayor of Sucupira, Odorico Paraguaçu, who has as his main aim in his administration the inauguration of a cemetery. On one side the Cajazeiras sisters support him. On the other he has to fight the strong opposition led by Neco Pedreira, owner of the town's gazette.



PROGRAM - DOCUMENTARIES

MAMONAS 4-EVER (Mamonas Para Sempre), Documentary / 2009, Directed by Cláudio Kahns. Mamonas Forever is the amazing story of five talented musicians, from the suburbs of São Paulo to the biggest success in the Brazilian music history. After five years playing dense rock music and performing' seriously as Utopia band, chance knocked on the door. There was only one request, they had to show their extroverted selves: happy and irreverent. What was sad became funny and satirical in all senses, and the Mamonas Assassinas were born. In only 10 months they put the country upside down and as never seen before, rock music united families to sing, dance, laugh and cry.


OSCAR NIEMEYER – LIFE IS A BREATH OF AIR, Documentary / 2007, Directed by Fabiano Maciel. Is it possible to tell a story of a nation through its architecture? It’s been said that the most important aspect of a building is the legacy that it represents for the society that built it. Therefore the work of Oscar Niemeyer, and his generation, is undoubtedly the best Brasil has ever produced, architecture with a soul of its own inspired in the country’s geography and that influenced architects worldwide. OSCAR NIEMEYER – LIFE IS A BREATH OF AIR is a movie that without trying to imitate the uniqueness of its subject relies on the precision of his lines and on the poetry of his forms, in order to reconstruct the history of the greatest icon of Brasil’s Modern Architecture.

QUEEN OF BRASIL (Rainhas), Documentary / 2010, Directed by Fernanda Tornaghi and Ricardo Bruno, featuring Fábio Mota, Otacílio Júnior, Marcos André, Alexandre Braga, Nany People, Luiza Ramil, Cleidina Mota and Aline Mota. Fábio is a small town boy from the Amazon region. He departs to Rio de Janeiro hoping to become the next Miss Gay Brasil. The documentary tells the story of Fabio and his partner as they embark on a journey towards a little known national beauty pageant which mobilizes the lives of hundreds of guys around the country – all pursuing the dream of being crowned Brasil´s most beautiful girl.

RITA CADILLAC - THE LADY OF THE PEOPLE (Rita Cadillac – A Lady Do Povo), Documentary / 2010, Directed by Toni Venturi, featuring testemonials by Rogéria, Drauzio Varella, Hector Babenco, Djalma Limonge Batista, Leleco, and others. Queen of the truck drivers, gold miners and godmother of jail inmates. Sex symbol in the 80’s, Rita Cadillac was the fantasy of a whole generation of Brazilian males. Now middle-aged, she has starred in 3 adult films in order to earn money for her retirement. An intimate documentary about the star and her private life.


STRAIGHT TO THE POINT (Onde a Coruja Dorme), Documentary / 2010, Directed by Márcia Derraik and Simplício Neto. This engaging documentary profiles Bezerra da Silva, a Brazilian music legend known as the father of “gangsta samba.” Da Silva’s songs, many of them written by residents of the slums of Rio de Janeiro, are social critiques that champion the underdog who must do whatever it takes to survive.


TAMBORO, Documentary / 2009, Directed by Sergio Bernardes, featuring Rose Marie Muraro, Mãe Beata de Iemanjá, Leonardo Boff, Hermeto Pascoal, Aziz Ab’Saber, Orlando Valverde, Ailton Krenak, Velha Guarda da Portela, Seu Jorge, Afroreggae, Antonio Lisboa, Orlando Miranda de Carvalho, Repentistas Nordestinos and Movimento dos Sem Terra (MST). TAMBORO broaches the main social and environmental issues of Brasil. The deforestation of the Amazon Forrest, the conflicts over land property in the countryside, growing shanty-towns and increasing criminality in the great urban centers are exposed, creating a somewhat muralist panorama of our civilization. The documentary roves all over Brasil, from Mount Roraima to Aparados da Serra, revealing amazing images of our country.

WITHIN THE RIVER, AMONG THE TREES (No Meio do Rio entre as Árvores), Documentary / 2009, Directed by Jorge Bodanzky. It is the result of an expedition to the Alto Solimões that ministered video, circus, and photography workshops to the creeks communities inside the reserves. The film was made by them, from the recently-learned technology, with an insider view aiming abroad, without interpreters. From the hearth of the Amazon to the world, we come to know how It is the daily life of these people who live in the farthest reach of Brasil. What they think, what are they’re dreams and hopes, how they solve the problems they face for living within the river, among the trees.



SPONSORS

The 8th Cine Fest Petrobras Brasil–New York is presented by Petrobras with the sponsorship of Brasiliatur and Ancine; Official Airlines – American Airlines; Official Hotel – Hudson New York; Supported by the Ministry of Culture, Department of Culture/FNC, Consulate General of Brazil in New York, Fastway Moving, Piola Restaurant, Churrascaria Plataforma Tribeca, MPB.FM, Contigo, Revista Movie, Filme B, City Parks Foundation and Summerstage


ABOUT INFFINITO GROUP

Comprised of Inffinito Núcleo de Arte e Cultura, Inffinito Eventos e Produções (Brasil) and Inffinito Foundation (USA), the Inffinito Group has as its main objective the promotion and diffusion of Brazilian cultural productions in Brasil and abroad, with partners Adriana Dutra, Cláudia Dutra and Viviane Spinelli.


In 1995, the three partners took the first steps towards of what became the Inffinito Festival Circuit, when they conceptualized the Brazilian Film Festival of Miami. The first edition took place in 1997 and since then the trio has been organizing Brazilian film festivals around the world. In 2003, Viviane, Cláudia and Adriana produced the 1st Brazilian Film Festival of New York.

This year the Inffinito Festival Circuit was present in Canudos and will appear in Miami, Vancouver, London, Rome, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Madrid and Barcelona before the end of the year.

The full program, film descriptions and ticket information can be found on http://www.brazilianfilmfestival.com/
ENGLISH: http://www.brazilianfilmfestival.com/ny_en.html
or by calling 646-827-9333.

BRAZILIAN FILM FESTIVAL WRAP-UP

The Brazilian Film Festival (officially named "VII Cine Fest Petrobras Brasil-NY") presented a balanced picture of an eclectic film industry in a huge country with political stability and somewhat more economic stability – and growth – than most of the world. It was very enjoyable.

Aside from well known, beautiful and talented superstars (eg Sonia Braga, Alice Braga, Giselle Bundchen) of Brazilian origin, Brazil has a reservoir of great talent... less well known outside of Brazil. And there was a lot of talent on display in the films in the festival.

There is a charming feeling of relaxed sexuality, and adult behavior in the films (and the performance of Silvia Machete at the opening night party). Indeed, one feature of the films was they were mostly about adults. (As one member of the organizing committee told me, we don’t need to make films for or about kids and teens; the Americans take care of that.) The center of gravity for the fictional characters was about 40 years old and moderately prosperous. Many of the documentaries were about even older musicians.

The strongest of the films I saw (I saw many, but not all the films) were Romance, an original, bright romantic comedy, and Veronica, a well-written action/chase movie. Overall, the greatest strength in the films was the acting; good writing, and a very personal dedication was also evident in the great labor it took to make the films, especially the documentaries.

The weakness of the films that I saw included a tendency to be safe in their overall stories, an almost complete lack of expensive effects – for example, low light graininess seemed more like cheap filmmaking than sophisticated style. And some really terrible subtitles (sometimes invisible white words on white backgrounds, sometimes ungrammatical, incomprehensible or even nonsensical translations – it seems like many people in Brazil speak good English – except for the translators who work on subtitles). The movies, while very good, seemed in some cases to not quite fully achieve the scope and edge in story and technique of great feature films.

I’m just guessing here, but the causes of these limitations could be: a home market that can not support very expensive films; a funding system that does not facilitate independent, well-budgeted, cutting edge films (which, of course, is true everywhere); and inexperience with all the possibilities of feature films as a medium different from TV.

The films shown include glimpses of a stable, prosperous country, the Brazilian musical scene, some corruption, and a lot of sexually charged relationships. Yet, the stories could have even greater scope and more edge, the moment-to-moment activity could be more complex and subtle, the visual canvas can be much broader, including more spectacular and diverse locations; and there is still room for more passion to underlie the films about what is really exciting about Brazil.

Also, getting someone who speaks native English to produce the final subtitles would be an instant boost to the films in the American market.

Young Brazilian pop singing superstarSandy Lima
on the Red Carpet for Wandering HeartPhoto by Eric Roffman for QPORIT

The opening of Wandering Heart, about the highly respected musician, Caetano Veloso, was the occasion for the Red Carpet event, though it could have been more exciting, with some prominent celebrities being no-shows. Indeed, more actors and actresses could have come for the screenings and all the parties to promote their films, the festival, and above all, themselves.

As a note to the organizers of all festival parties for filmmakers and journalists, I would like to make a suggestion for the name badges (brilliantly implemented by Esther Dyson at her tech events, by the way): Name tags should be huge, and the name and the person’s reason for attendance (eg the film’s name, and the person’s role – actor, director, producer…) should be able to be easily read by anybody nearby. It makes the people you want to meet so much easier to find, and conversations so much easier to start.

For all that, the festival itself was fun, with good screenings, parties, and a nighttime disco.

The Brazil on display is a Brazil I have always wanted to visit.

With a large TV industry to provide a reservoir of technical and – especially – great acting talent, and a huge, diverse, and untapped environment, Brazil provides a unique prospect as a site for movie makers to set their movies.

Here are some reviews of specific films and the opening event:



SILVIA MACHETE

With a sly, engaging personality and a performance that is both retro and avant garde, Silvia Machete gave a real boost to the festival on opening night.

Performing at the Central Park SummerStage, in the open air in beautiful weather, after a day of horrible rain, she thanked the organizers for inviting her, mentioning that she lived in New York for a while -- giving street performances in Central Park, and suspected this might be the first time the police would ever let her finish her performance.

She has a nice voice, a pleasant jazzy style in both English and Portuguese, and fine back-up musicians. She performed her distinctive set-piece: hand rolling and lighting a “cigarette,” whose ingredients are stashed in various parts of her anatomy and clothing, while twirling a hula hoop. She also was taken up on her offer to give a free disc to some young man in the audience who would come up on stage and suck her toe (sic… yup… he did that… she did that).


Gloria Pires and Tony Ramos
If I Were You 2
If I WERE YOU 2

If I Were You 2 was shown on the open air screen at Central Park on opening night.

This is a pleasant, enjoyable, amusing comedy. The acting and directing are very good in this role-reversal film, and the visual style is pleasant. The projection in Central Park, even before it was fully dark was excellent.

It is said to be the most successful domestic Brazilian film of the year (maybe ever). I was told that it grossed about 1.5 million dollars, which does set a limit on Brazilian domestic box office, and indicates why it may be difficult to provide large budgets for any films not likely to be a big success domestically and internationally.

The film conveys a feeling of a prosperous and stable society, which may be just the image the festival had in mind for its opening night. The film is kind of old fashioned both in style and content. In truth, the film could have been made in the US 50 to 75 years ago (if they had color then).

The couple’s young daughter, whose boyfriend has gotten her pregnant, is played by Isabelle Drummond, (actually, Isabelle Christine Lourenço Gomes Drummond), an impressive young actress. I was a bit confused by the dialog which refers to her boyfriend as a pedophile and exploiter of young girls, because she looks well over the age of consent and sophisticated and beautiful enough to be experienced. According to IMDB, however, she was actually only about 14 when she made this film, which explains a lot. Brazilians may be used to such young beauties, but for the external market, it would have been helpful to place her in a classroom with some young friends to set more context. Americans are used to seeing 25 year old actors play 16 year old high school students. Understanding that an actress who looks, perhaps, 18-19, is actually only 14, and supposed to be playing 15-16, is not intuitive for an American audience.

I enjoyed this film. It was a good start for the festival.


Andrea Beltrao with Matheus de Sá
Veronica
VERONICA

This rather gritty chase film / thriller begins with excellent dialog and a setup that could come from Hitchcock: A burnt-out, everywoman teacher helps a child who is not picked up after school, and finds herself protecting the boy from drug dealers and corrupt, drug-dealing cops who want to kill him, like they killed his parents, to recover the recording his father, an informer, made of their drug transactions (a recording which the father, rather dangerously, gave the kid to take to school in the morning as kind of a necklace).

The acting is excellent. Andrea Beltrao – who plays the teacher here, (and a very different character in Romance) throws herself into the role, and Matheus de Sá playing the boy is pitch perfect. The style is grainy and realistic (though it seems sometimes to be more ugly-ish and grainy because of the budget than because it’s the best choice for the film).

I found myself just a little put off by the way the script portrays the teacher as a 20 year veteran teacher and “one of the best teachers in the school” since she seems totally confused at first about what to do with a student who is not picked up; and completely unfamiliar with the neighborhood. (In 20 years there must have been students not picked up on time; and you’d think she’d know the neighborhood better.) It might have been just a bit more credible for me if she was, at least, new to that particular school.

The way it ends is interesting. Not to give too much away, the ending is neither too pat, nor too easy and over-optimistic.

Letícia Sabatella and Wagner Moura
Romance

ROMANCE

This very nice romantic comedy deals with many issues that arise in theater, TV, and films:

1 -- A director and an actress love each other. But he is jealous, she is beautiful, and there are so many handsome actors, talented directors, and rich producers around...

2 – Theater can be awfully stagy.

3 – There’s much more money in TV than in theater.

4 – Theatuh is about the wuhrk, people should come for the ahht, not to see a famous actress.

5a – Happy endings can be unrealistic. Depressing endings are bad for box office.

5b – Classic theater pieces (especially Tristan and Iseult, Romeo and Juliet, etc) have classically tragic endings. TV and films usually have happy endings. When a classic tragedy is adapted for popular TV, should it end as happy/TV or classic/tragedy?

5c – For that matter, how should the movie itself end? It starts with classic theatrical tragedy and ends in the theater, but it’s a film with popular aspirations.

The acting is excellent again here, Letitia Sabatella, as the actress, is beautiful and sympathetic. Letitia is also active in issues involving native Brazilians, and is the co-director of Hotxua. Andrea Beltrao, who is very good as the lead in Veronica, plays a very different sort of character here. These are two terrific actresses. Wagner Moura, who plays the director, is also very good.

This film is interesting, romantic, amusing and interesting. It begins with kind of an arty, arch, theatrical start (… well, after all, it begins by portraying an arty, arch, theatrical production, so I guess that style is appropriate). But the film becomes warmer and more and more naturalistic as it develops, -- and better and better -- finishing with a warm, comic flair.

Of course, half the final joke is that the warm comic flair of the finale is exactly what the character of the Director objected to in his TV film. The other half of the joke is that at the end of the film, now that he's got his girl, he's delighted to have a happy ending. (Note: It is hardly a "spoiler" to reveal that a romantic comedy called "Romance" has a comedic, romantic ending.)





Arnaldo Baptista

Loki -- Arnaldo Baptista is an old fashioned, threadbare documentary and a very interesting film about a very interesting subject -- Arnaldo Baptista, a musician who was instrumental in developing the evolution of Brazilian music. It is a portrait of a unique personality. It is also a story of love lost. In an interview, Sean Lennon says of Arnaldo, he has "the soul of a child." That could have been the title of this film.

The director/producers went to extraordinary lengths to obtain fascinating archival footage. This film, directed by Paulo Henrique Fontenelle, won the Festival's Crystal Lens Award for Best Feature Film, by the vote of the audience.

In contrast to the older music of Loki, the documentary Favella On Blast concentrates on the baile funk, music with its roots in one of the most violent and poor places, the shanty towns in Rio de Janeiro.

Fernando Grostein Andrade
Director of Wandering HeartPhoto by Eric Roffman for QPORIT
I did not have the chance to see Wandering Heart, but I did have a chance to chat with the director, who strikes me as extraordinarily skilled. He has accomplished a lot while very young, and he’s also charming. He is a good bet to become an important filmmaker.

The presence of three documentaries about music (and one fictionalized film version of a true story -- see below) testifies to the importance of musical traditions in the Brazilian culture.

Selton Mello and Alessandra Negrini
The Herb Of The Rat

HERB OF THE RAT

This bizarre film (co-directed, and written by Júlio Bressane -- based on some famous stories) is sensuous, sexual, visually interesting, and logically completely incoherent. It has some of the worst subtitles ever; but I suspect that even in its native language it is better with the sound track off.

The cinematography and, especially, the actors, however, are very good. Selton Mello is a distinguished actor in Brazil, with many awards. The actress, Alessandra Negrini, of whom we see a lot in this film (and even more is available online), is a fine actress and very attractive. Her Cleopatra, from 2007, also directed by Júlio Bressane, won numerous awards in Brazil, including best actress for Alessandra.

The film has three distinct sections: the beginning could be a satire of an art film; the middle section is sexual and, except for the dialog, engrossing; toward the end it’s just gross… and also ridiculous: sort-of a bloodless, tensionless, pointless, horrorless, would-be horror film. I don't particularly like the title, which seems like a bad translation for the name of a poison. The film might perhaps better be called The Rat & The Pussy.

Watch the middle.


CHILDREN’S ORCHESTRA

This fictional recreation of a real story, for most of the movie, presents the universal epic of a fledgling arts organization trying to organize in the face of financial and political obstacles. The insanely rapid progress the students make in their musical abilities, without obvious instruction, is a bit fake, but it’s fun. The young performers in the films are terrific, both in music and acting; and the young girl singer has an especially beautiful voice.

The first hour could (and should) be shown to every young orchestra and every municipal council anywhere in the world. But then for a short while, this story gets really ugly: a child kidnapped, beaten and abused physically, then abused some more -- psychologically -- by corrupt investigators; the maestro falsely accused of sexual abusing his students; suicide, blood, would-be murder. This awful stuff is over quickly, but it makes the film unsuitable for most audiences that would most appreciate it.

It’s also over too quickly to be a really adequate dramatization of the exceptional corruption and venality that made this story famous, or the exceptional way that media coverage, community support, and judicial review resolved the problems. (The story could have been a two-part movie or TV mini-series, with the “ugly” part given 90 minutes all its own.)

Happily the end credits suggest that the orchestra and teaching institution are flourishing and the children involved have gone on to successful lives, mostly with professional careers in music.


Adriana Dutra
Director
Smoking I Wait

Smoking I Wait is an earnest film that presents a compelling description of many aspects of the tobacco problem: the difficulty of quitting (the director uses herself as the guinea pig); the addiction and marketing of cigarettes, the history of tobacco, and more. The attractive and affable Adriana L. Dutra is the director, the face of the story and, as it happens, also one of the organizers of the film festival.


WRAP-UP PART II: THE WRAP-UP WRAP-UP

Looking back over all the films in the festival and the whole experience, I am pleasantly impressed. There’s room for improvement in the quality of the films, yet the handmade feeling also provides a warm, personal feeling that gives the viewer the feeling of being really there, close to the action and the filmmaker, and not removed by a degree or two – the way films that are too sophisticated exist at a remove from the viewer.

The acting was exceptional.

There is enormous opportunity, I think, for filmmakers to tap into the Brazilian world, and Brazilian talent. And when major financiers put more financial support into the technical quality of the films, it will be easy for homemade Brazilian films to expand aggressively into the world market.

This festival travels around the world. It's worth visiting whenever it comes to your city.

I’m already looking forward to next year’s Brazilian Film Festival.