# The Mechanism (TV series)

O Mecanismo (transl. The Mechanism) is a Brazilian political drama television series created by José Padilha and Elena Soarez, directed by Padilha, Felipe Prado, and Marcos Prado, and written by Elena Soarez. The show depicts Operation Car Wash (Portuguese: Operação Lava Jato), an ongoing police taskforce that discovered a widespread corruption scheme involving the Brazilian government and several prominent engineering firms. The series premiered all episodes of the first season March 23, 2018, worldwide, on Netflix.
On May 28, 2018, the series was renewed for a second season. The second season premiered on Netflix on May 10, 2019.

## Plot

Marco Ruffo (Selton Mello) is a Federal Police agent obsessed with the case he is investigating. When he least expects it, he and his apprentice, Verena Cardoni (Carol Abras), are already immersed in one of the largest diversion and money laundering investigations in Brazilian history. The proportion is so great that the course of investigations completely changes the lives of all involved.

## Cast

* Selton Mello as Marco Ruffo
* Caroline Abras as Verena Cardoni
* Enrique Díaz as Roberto Ibrahim
* Leonardo Medeiros as João Pedro Rangel
* Alessandra Colassanti as Wilma Kitano
* Jonathan Haagensen as Vander
* Otto Jr. as Judge Paulo Rigo
* Susana Ribeiro [pt] as Regina
* Antonio Saboia [pt] as Dimas
* Lee Taylor as Claudio Amadeu

## Production
### Development

In April 2016, Netflix announced that it would produce an original, still untitled series that would follow the investigations of Operation Car Wash. The series was produced by José Padilha, Marcos Prado and the production company Zazen Produções and written by Elena Soarez and Sofia Maldonado. The series was directed by José Padilha, Felipe Prado, Marcos Prado and Daniel Rezende.

### Filming

The Mechanism started its production in May 2017. Filming locations included the cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba and Brasília.

## Reception

The first season of the series hold a approval rate of 80% in the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 10 ratings.
Cassio Starling, in a criticism for Folha de S. Paulo, said that "As was clear from both " Elite Squad ", in addition to the box office success, Padilha seeks to provoke social responses, make the public react to anesthesia and automatic slogans .The enormous attention focused on Lava Jato, on the effects of investigations on the present and the immediate future of the country, could not escape the opportunism of Padilha. Therefore, “The Mechanism” developed little by little, almost insidiously, another plot, which justifies after all, the title. By introducing this fundamental question Padilha reaches a dimension, in fact, more political and less police, more daily and less exceptional. "
Fábio de Souza Gomes, from Omelete, wrote that the program presents tiring fiction, unnecessary parallel plots, but has outstanding performances. He also commented that "although it doesn't seem a little forced, [Selton] Mello improves a lot throughout the series and manages to lead the story well in the shadows while [Caroline] Abras creates a complex and strong detective who seeks to find the corruption behind the country "He added that" The Mechanism could have been much better than it actually was. "
Adolfo Molina, from Observatório do Cinema, summarizes that "The Mechanism is a failure as a representation of historical facts in Brazil for trying to seek exemption from the bias and failing, and a work of fiction also fails to fall into this trap."
Ritter Fan, from Plano Crítico, wrote that "The scripts of the episodes, all written by Elena Soarez, are beyond didactic, with endless repetitions that hit the same monkkey practically every chapter like" fighting cancer does not leave anyone unscathed And things like that. In the field of performances, Selton Mello once again shows that he is one of the best Brazilian actors of his generation, even considering his irritating inability to speak out, his trademark since the beginning that makes understanding what he babble quite complicated. " He praised Enrique Díaz, saying that the performance "immediately resembled that of Robert Knepper as T-Bag, in Prison Break, that is, a rascal and rascal shaped to make us hate him, but at the same time we love him." He concluded by saying that "The Mechanism is a series with potential, but that it is not fully realized."

## Similarities with real life events

Despite the recurrent disclaimer at the start of each episode, declaring the screenplay is loosely based on a true story, with characters and events adapted for dramatic effect, many characters and companies depicted (but not all facts regarding them) can be easily traced to the actual people and companies involved in Operation Car Wash. Some such associations are:
| Character/Company | Counterpart | Actor |
| Petrobrasil | Petrobras | |
| Constructor OSA | OAS Group | |
| Constructor Miller&Brecht | Odebrecht | |
| Roberto Ibrahim | Alberto Youssef | Enrique Diaz |
| Judge Paulo Rigo | Judge Sergio Moro | Otto Jr. |
| Former President João "Gino" Higino | Then-Former President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva | Arthur Kohl |
| President Janete Ruscov | Then-President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff | Sura Berditchevsky |
| Senator Lúcio Lemes | Senator Aécio Neves | Michel Bercovitch |
| Vice President Samuel Thames | Then-Vice President of Brazil Michel Temer | Tonio Carvalho |
| Mario Garcez Brito | Márcio Thomaz Bastos | Pietro Mário |
| João Pedro Rangel (Pepê) | Paulo Roberto Costa | Leonardo Medeiros |
| Ricardo Brecht | Marcelo Odebrecht | Emílio Orciollo Netto |
| Lorival Bueno (OSA CEO) | Léo Pinheiro, then OAS Group CEO | Sidney Guedes |
| Attorney General (no name in the show) | Then-Prosecutor General of Brazil Rodrigo Janot | Lionel Fischer |
| Prosecutor Dimas Donatelli | Prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol | Antonio Saboia |
| Maria Tereza, Miller&Brecht Personal Assistant | Maria Lúcia Tavares, then Odebrecht Executive Assistant | Anna Cotrim |
| Police Chief Verena Cardoni | Police Chief Erika Marena | Caroline Abras |
| Agent "China" | Newton Ishii, agent of the Federal Police of Brazil | Fábio Yoshihara |

## Episodes

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 8 | 8 | March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23) | TBA |
| 2 | 8 | 8 | May 10, 2019 (2019-05-10) | TBA |

### Season 1 (2018)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | English title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | 1 | "Lava Jato" | Car Wash | José Padilha | Elena Soarez | March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23) |
| The family of federal delegate Marco Ruffo is being threatened after he tries to frame Roberto Ibrahim for money laundering. |||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Halawi" | Halvah | Felipe Prado | Elena Soarez | March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23) |
| 10 years later, Verena continues to investigate Ibrahim and the doleiros who work with him. |||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Ventos Frios Vindos do Sul" | Cool Winds from the South | Felipe Prado | Elena Soarez | March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23) |
| The Federal Police team works hard to carry out an operation with multiple targets, but important evidence disappears. |||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Fundo Falso" | False Bottom | Marcos Prado | Elena Soarez | March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23) |
| Guilhome gets some unexpected help. Verena goes after João Pedro, and Judge Rigo reflects on a decision that can change everything. |||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Olhos Vermelhos" | Red Eyes | Marcos Prado | Elena Soarez | March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23) |
| Verena has a feeling she can not trust anyone else. Ibrahim's wife is furious to find out what her husband has done in jail. |||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Eles Sabiam de Tudo" | They Knew It All | Marcos Prado | Elena Soarez | March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23) |
| To force João Pedro to speak what he knows, investigators are seeking charges against his family. But a leak puts the whole operation at risk. |||||||
| 7 | 7 | "O Último Respiro" | One Last Breath | Daniel Rezende | Elena Soarez | March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23) |
| The "Clube dos 13" (Club of 13) rush to close an agreement with the attorney general. In dealing with a sewage problem in the neighborhood, Ruffo has an epiphany and understands the origin of everything. |||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Juízo Final" | Doomsday | Daniel Rezende | Elena Soarez | March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23) |
| Verena receives devastating news. Ruffo reevaluates his priorities. Dimas and Cláudio learn of the fate of Operation "Juízo Final" (Doomsday). |||||||

### Season 2 (2019)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | English title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 9 | 1 | "De onde vem a lama?" | Where Does the Mud Comes From? | José Padilha | Elena Soarez | May 10, 2019 (2019-05-10) |
| Ruffo gets a valuable price from the secretary of the 13th contractor, Ricardo Bretch. Verena and Guilhone find themselves under investigation. |||||||
| 10 | 2 | "Del Este" | Del Este | José Padilha | Elena Soarez | May 10, 2019 (2019-05-10) |
| Vander's illegal wiretap pays off. When Ibrahim's new venture gets off to a bad start, his money-hungry wife makes a fatal error. |||||||
| 11 | 3 | "Adictos" | Addicts | José Padilha | Elena Soarez | May 10, 2019 (2019-05-10) |
| Ruffo gets a surprise when he visits his wife at the ranch, and later makes a deal with Maria Tereza, who is followed home after picking up her son. |||||||
| 12 | 4 | "O grande ilusionista" | The Great Illusionist | José Padilha | Elena Soarez | May 10, 2019 (2019-05-10) |
| Disciplined as ever, Bretch gets to work on a plan and gives his wife instructions. To find Ibrahim, Ruffo follows another trail Luz Maria has left. |||||||
| 13 | 5 | "Ponte da Amizade" | Friendship Bridge | José Padilha | Elena Soarez | May 10, 2019 (2019-05-10) |
| Following the cigarette lead, Ruffo heads to Paraguay. When Guilhome learns Ruffo is pursuing Ibrahim alone, he sets out to find him and bring him back. |||||||
| 14 | 6 | "Réquiem" | Requiem | José Padilha | Elena Soarez | May 10, 2019 (2019-05-10) |
| Verena finds herself at Ibrahim's mercy. When Eva is unable to convince Bretch to talk before Ibrahim does, she calls a political ally for help. |||||||
| 15 | 7 | "O fim e os meios" | The Ends and the Means | Daniel Rezende | Elena Soarez | May 10, 2019 (2019-05-10) |
| When Tom Carvalho tells Verena and the DA's office about shady deals involving former President Gino, Rigo issues orders that ignite a public firestorm. |||||||
| 16 | 8 | "Canastra Suja" | Dirty Canastra | José Padilha | Elena Soarez | May 10, 2019 (2019-05-10) |
| Rigo is unable to ignore the new wiretap recording. The prospect of Thames becoming president spurs Verena to find a way to break Bretch's silence. |||||||

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
| 2018 | Golden Trailer Awards | Golden Trailer | Best Foreign (TV Spot/Trailer/Teaser for a series) | Nominated |
| 2018 | São Paulo Association of Art Critics Awards | Best Director | José Padilha | Nominated |
| 2019 | Associação Brasileira de Cinematografia | TV - Best Cinematography | Episode: Juízo Final (Doomsday) | Nominated |