Brazil

Three young hedonistic sociopaths find themselves in deep, deep trouble in Alexandre Stockler’s ugly 2002 teen drama Cat’s Cradle. Longtime pals and recent high school graduates Gabriel (Cainan Baladez), Cristiano (Caio Blat), and Francisco (Rodrigo Bolzan) are all from privileged Sao Paulo households, and as such, spend the vast majority of their time seeking entertainment in any way, shape, or form. The depths of their depravity become fully apparent when the trio captures and gang rapes a young woman — who dies in the midst of this horrific crime. In a panic, the gang of rapists/murderers try to cover up their crime and quickly discover that the cover-up is oftentimes more egregious than the initial crime, with more death and mayhem following suit. Cat’s Cradle marked the first film of the newly formed TRAUMA (Trying to Realize Anything Urgently and with a Minimum of Audacity) school of filmmaking, a so-called “ironic Latin American response to Dogma 95” co-founded by director Stockler. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie GuideRead More »

Synopsis:

Ana is going through psychological problems. She and lifelong friend Cléia decide to revisit the place they spent their childhood together in an attempt to get better results in her treatment. But they meet a stranger who will upset their plans.Read More »

Synopsis:

In São Paulo, the greedy Bárbara is not happy with her work in a loan and investment company. When her boss Ricardo invites Bárbara for a meeting at his apartment, he harasses her first and then he fires her. When Bárbara is walking on the sidewalk, a stranger offers a ride to downtown for her. While driving, the driver Rose offers a job in a brothel to Bárbara promising a very high income to her. When Bárbara arrives home, she tells the offer she had to her friends Mariazinha and Ana Lúcia. The trio decides to visit the place but they do not like the situation of being treated like objects. They decide to steal the database of the wealthy clients of Ricardo and offer their services in the own apartment. Sooner Bárbara invests a large amount improving the location that is known as “The Palace of the Angels”. Along the days they raise lots of money satisfying the fantasies of their clients but Mariazinha can’t stand the situation and returns to her hometown. Now Bárbara and Ana Lúcia
— Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (IMDb).Read More »

Helena is a recently graduated attorney that shares her routine between her job as a Public Defender of children and adolescents in the Forum of the city of Santos, Brazil, and the care of the teenager Caio, with whom she lives a harmonic and honest life. Their relationship is put to the test when Caio commits a felony.Read More »

Short after facing the failure of an attempt to rescue a drowning man, Donato meets Konrad, friend of the victim. Motivated by the circumstances, Donato decides to begin a new life in Berlin, but pieces of his past are coming after him.Read More »

Plot:A cinematographic essay, without dialogues, about the months Friedrich Nietzsche spent in Turin, Italy, with narration quoted by his original writings. It was there that the philosopher wrote some of his most known books such as Ecce Homo and Twilight of the Idols .Read More »

Quote:
A beautiful young woman living in an isolated fishing community on an island falls in love with an outsider, a train machinist. But her father, a violent religious fanatic interferes.Read More »

Hilton Lacerda’s film debut is a lively take on the conflict between the straight establishment and the gay avant garde in late ’70s Brazil, and won a clutch of awards at the recent Rio festival.

The spirit of Fassbinder lives on in Hilton Lacerda’s Tattoo, at once an homage to the anarchist theater scene in late 1970s Brazil, a portrait of a society on the edge of change, and a punchy critique of Latin American homophobia. As drama, Tattoo tells an often-told story, but it does achieve a distinctive air of controlled chaos, managing to be both bouncy and thought-provoking in an unsubtle kind of way. Having picked up several awards in Rio, Tattoo should go on to leave its mark at festivals where the gay and the political meet. Its five Rio awards included best actor and best supporting actor.Read More »

Review (by Jamie Russell,) :

Life is cheap in this searing Brazilian documentary about the real-life hijacking of a bus in Rio de Janeiro in June 2000 by a homeless, drug-addicted street kid named Sandro do Nascimento. Broadcast live on Brazilian television, the four-hour stand-off let the nation watch as its incompetent, poorly trained police force struggled to contain the explosive situation. A stunning indictment of Brazil’s social meltdown, this startling documentary plays like City Of God – except this time the bullets are real.

The hijacking itself is a catalogue of errors: the police failed to seal off the bus, letting camera crews and Joe Public wander within inches of its windows while Sandro stalked around inside with a .38 revolver. As a result, SWAT team snipers were told not to shoot because the event was being broadcast live on national television.
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