As they say, "And now the film...."

Rating: 9/10 (13 June 2004)

I have waited for some time to view the dvd from Netflix, and when it finally arrived this week I watched it with great interest. Previously, I had read some of the reviews and in fact discussed the film last week with a really bright Brazilian kid as he shined my shoes in a big Washington hotel. Hardly an objective lead up to actually seeing and reviewing the film, but since another Imdb subscriber recently took me to task (lamely, it must be noted) for being unoriginal, I wanted to provide a full disclaimer.

First, this is not a bad film at all. It may not be as great as the hype and ratings suggest, but it has a lot of things going for it that easily transcend all the chatter. I like its internal structure, well edited if not totally original, portraying the interconnected lives of a small group of favela dwellers over a period of time. Although fast-paced, the story thread is never lost, and part of its charm is that it separates the essential humanity (or lack thereof) of the characters themselves from the changing context in which we see them from time to time as they develop or evolve. That is where art divides from any overt political screed.
To me, filmed evocations of violence properly contrasted with a message of hope are not objectionable in and of themselves. And they can be seen in any culture, in any country, at any time. The measure of cinematic excellence rests on whether art effectively connects with its objects, and is ultimately truthful to its own message irrespective of how the viewer otherwise regards that message.
As someone intimately connected with a sharply divided community in terms of culture and class, I sense that this story is indeed universally applicable, and the film itself is a fine piece of work in telling that story.