O Homem Que Copiava

Plot synopsis:
Nineteen-year-old André Maciel (Lázaro Ramos) works as a photocopy machine operator in a convenience store in Porto Alegre. Disillusioned with his life and obsessed with material wealth, he dreams of being an illustrator, but his comics, though well drawn, are rejected by publishers. After André returns home from work, he spends time in his room drawing or spying on Sílvia (Leandra Leal), a neighbor who lives in an apartment across the street with her father Antunes, with binoculars.
Following Silvia to work one morning, André finds that she works at a lingerie store, coincidentally called ‘Sílvia’s.” Once he follows Sílvia inside the store, he realizes he needs an excuse to be in there, and tells Sílvia that he is looking for a birthday gift for his mother. Sílvia suggests that he buy a robe that costs R$38. However, André cannot afford this, and he promises Sílvia that he will return and buy it later.
One evening, he visits a club with Marinês (Luana Piovani), an attractive co-worker, who introduces him to a friend of hers Cardoso, (Pedro Cardoso), who works in antiques. André is initially impressed by the well dressed Cardoso, whom he assumes is well off. Later, when they are alone, Cardoso hits on Marinês and she refuses him, all but admitting that she is a gold digger and having suspected earlier that Cardoso is poor from his resoled shoes, and that she dislikes Cardoso's smoking.
Leaving the club, Andre boards a bus and sees Silvia, wanting to make small talk, he promises to buy the robe at next opportunity.
Still believing that Cardoso is rich, André visits him at his place of work and finds that he sells junk for a living. Over coffee, André realizes that Cardoso also has no money and in a later scene, that Cardoso is as obsessed with material wealth as him, believing it to be necessary to woo Marinês.
By chance, André's boss leaves him with a R$50 bill in order to run some errands. Giving in to temptation, André photocopies the note bank notes at his job. To dispose of the note, André begins gambling in the lottery. One of André's counterfeit notes is accidentally used by Cardoso to buy them drinks and André reveals his counterfeiting to Cardoso. On of their lottery runs, André plays the sequence of numbers ‘1 2 3 4 5 6', earning him the mockery of Cardoso, who believes that that combination will never come out.
A relationship blossoms between André and Sílvia, and eventually, André asks for her hand in marriage. Sílvia says yes, however, André tells her that they cannot get married right away; André feels as though he needs more money in order to provide for Sílvia – more money than he can get from counterfeiting.
André hatches a plan to pull a bank heist with Cardoso and purchases a gun (using more counterfeit money) from Feitosa, a drug dealing acquaintance of his. The heist is successful, however, André was unmasked and was subsequently forced to shoot Antunes, a passerby, to make his getaway.
André and Cardoso are both relieved to find that the police sketch of the bank robber looks nothing like him. That joy is compounded when the pair find out André won the lottery. However, André is worried about being recognized should his lottery win be published in the news in light of the bank robbery. The pair rope in Marinês to help them claim the winnings.
Flush with cash, André, Cardoso and Marinês go on a shopping spree. Cardoso and Marinês check into a luxurious hotel, where they have sex. André asks Silvia to leave with him, but she believes that Antunes would not allow it. André agrees to meet Antunes.
Meeting at a restaurant, and while the other party is not present, André learns that Silvia hates Antunes, who she believes isn't her real father, Antunes reveals to André that while he recognizes him, he will not turn André in nor does he want any of the heist money, but half of the lottery money.
Leaving the restaurant, André is accosted by Feitosa, who had been arrested earlier when he tried to spend some of the counterfeit money given to him by André but managed to get released quickly due to having underworld connections. Feitosa had figured out that André is the bank robber, having been questioned about the gun that he sold André, and demands the heist money. André agrees to pass the money to Feitosa the following day.
That night, Silvia confronts André, having learnt about his part in the bank heist from Antunes. André initially proposes to pay off Antunes with the heist money, but Silvia proposes to kill him instead.
The next day, André double crosses Feitosa and leads him into a trap, killing him. Later, André, Cardoso, Marinês and Silvia set a trap for Antunes. Initially, the plan goes awry, but they succeed in killing him and framing him for the bank heist.
The film ends with the four friends at the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, where Sílvia meets the man she believes is her father, Paulo (Paulo José), while also subsequently revealing that she had orchestrated some of her initial coincidental meetings with André.

Tags: entertaining, comic, flashback

Review:
And that's exactly the situation the main character, André, is in.André is a nineteen year old, relatively poor kid who lives with his mother in a small apartment in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
When he falls in love with Silvia, a girl from the neighborhood that he spies on with a telescope, he needs money to spend in the store where she works.
But then it all gets out of control, certainly when he decides that photocopying is not the only way of making money...Even though André is portrayed as a criminal in the movie, you'll cheer him on to succeed in his dreams and you'll hope that he doesn't get caught or get into serious trouble.
There is something about all the characters that makes you wanting to know what happens with them in the next part of the movie.Next to the nice story and the fine characters, I also want to put some emphasis on the excellent way everything was shot.
I liked it a lot and it makes me look forward to other Brazilian movies.
It's visually spectacular, clever, funny at times, you don't see it all coming as layers peel away, there's love, tension and it's truly what film making is supposed to be about.
And it's a movie that can make you think a lot, if you want to - you can also choose just to hop on board and follow the flow of this journey.Great ending!
Andre, the protagonist, is a 19 year old Brazilian, toiling as a "photocopy operator," while pursuing his hobby  comic illustration, and a love he is not sure he can realize.
It is bright, uplifting, and full of exciting plot twists that will keep the viewer glued to the screen until the very end (although it starts a bit slowly).The director uses cinematic technique to portray a fragmented worldthat of Andre's existence, (as well as that of contemporary Brazil, as a whole) and attempts to scrutinize the minutiae of daily life in order to distill its essence and produce a vision of WHY we go about mundane and mechanical daily tasks, and how easily one can get caught up in a web of deception and false pretense.
The photography is excellent, combining the brightness and color of South America with cutting edge editing and camera technique.The film is also a subtle social commentary on the state of modern Brazil, illustrating the drastic economic disparity between the wealthy social elite and the pedestrian worker, yet stressing the fact that one can cross over to the other side with greater ease as technology and years advance.
"The Man Who Copied" documents a class of people who live a short, but dramatically visible step above those portrayed in "City Of God," and really succeeds in drawing us into the mindset and dreams of the characters.
This is a "coming of age" story, not just for its central characters, but for Brazil itself.If you enjoy this film, I strongly suggest that you check out "City Of God," "Nine Queens," and "Amelie." All of them are foreign films (two from South America) and all share some unique common thread with this film.
The need of money can make a person do some desperate things and Andre becomes desperate when he meets the girl of his dreams.
The people around him like his girlfriend Sylvia, his co-worker Marinez, and her friend Cardoso are all appealing characters to watch.
This is a fun movie to watch with interesting twists and turns to the very end.
André (Lázaro Ramos) is a nineteen years old man who works as a photocopier operator in a small suburban store.
André works with the sexy Marinês (Luana Piovani), a silly beautiful young woman, who usually says that she is virgin and will only have sex with a non-smoking rich guy.
While following with humor the saga of André to get the love of Silvia, we find comedy, drama, action and romance in this outstanding film.
A creative plot, that proves that money doesn't bring happiness, but helps a lot...Lazaro Ramos is in one of its best performances.
A clever plot with an  inspiring cast,thats how I define O homem que copiava(The man who copied).We follow the journey of Andre,a fotocopy operator that works in a small city.Without challenges in his life or money,he decides to turn a voyeur.He buys a binocle and starts spying the girl that lives in front of his apartment.Later he becomes her friend and gets obsessed about her life.But if he wants to win her heart he must win a lot of money,so he decides to copy cash in his fotocopy machine,then...It happens lots of things,and I'm sure everybody will be delighted with the funny and crazy things that Andre does to win money!Andre is played by Lazaro Ramos,one of the best actors of the new brazilian generation, he plays with such frankness and innocence Andre that fits perfectly to the great actor!Add to the story ,the beauty and talent of the most enjoyable,funny,sexy and above all things breath taking Luana Piovani playing the girl who works at the same stationer's shop that Andre.There is Pedro Cardoso very comfortable in his role and Leandra Leal playing Sylvia,the passion of Andre.The movie has almost the same interaction of Nueve Reinas,the argentinian movie with Ricardo Darin!If you Liked Nueve Reinas you'll certainly like O homem que copiava.It hasn't arrived at the United States yet ,but when arrive run to the cinema ,cos' you won't be disappointed!!
Great movie about an ordinary guy from the south of Brazil, who had an ordinary job as a photocopier operator.
I now have quite a few Brazilian friends (including my beautiful girlfriend Kellen Artenuza) and I must say that this movie shows us a side of the Brazilian culture that we don't get to see often, that being the day-to-day life and the things that "possibly" go through a natives mind.The movie is well balanced; action, love, suspense, drama and comedy.
That's a really great movie, very fun, the plot is original and the script unpredictable.
We witnessed every small detail of the main character's simple life in a very beautiful way for more than 3/4 of the film but everything got an unbelievable and shallow pace suddenly and I was left for wondering why he did this and that without any clue.I would have recommend it to anyone and regard it as a masterpiece but unfortunately it's only a nice film for me now, after the terrible last quarter..
The plot is about a normal, and poor, guy, with dreams and a distant love, like everyone one of us had once in life.
Lázaro Ramos is in an astounding performance, Andre becomes a very touchable character, and we laugh and cry with his plans to make money to finally approach his real love.
Speaking in Andre's love interest we need to talk about Leandra Leal in a very competent and flawless performance she makes a sweet, but rather deep and human, girl.
The chemistry between them is very believable and make the plot sound amazingly near to the audience.The work of Jorge Furtado is memorable, the narrative is fast and very funny, the work with the cameras don't have a single flaw, making a clear and polite movie.
Anyway it doesn't matter if you don't have a powerful 5.1 system in your room."O Homem que copiava" is a very competent movie, full of comedy and dramatist, with brilliant acting and an end that show us that the concept of good and bad are perfectly relative.10 out of Ten!.
This movie is the story of a young man in Porto Alegre, Brazil who workers as copy machine operator in a small store.
In an age where our cinematographic vision and sensibilities are blurred beyond repair by senseless, worse than junk box office nonsense like Spiderman, Harry Potter etc, it is nice to learn that a film has been made in Brazil by Jorge Furtado which talks about a common man from a realistic point of view.
This is precisely why this film will be remembered for many years in the near future.As "The man who copied" is a brilliant film it invariably needs to be known far and wide.It is an eclectic mix of various genres including animation cinema.
The story starts showing André (Lázaro Ramos), a poor and so far honest guy working at the Xerox.
Although Lázaro is one of the most acclaimed Brazilian actors, his performance as André was very poor compared to his other parts.The movie proceeds to attempt to show a romance between André and Silvia, a girl he spies at and works nearby.
Their conversations and moments together sound completely empty and acted.When André decides to make money at any cost and drops his honest self the movie goes on action mode, with a rushed plot after more than half of it was just André introspecting.
O homem que copiava (The man who copied)- 2003 - Brazil - Director: Jorge Furtado - Genre: Drama/Comedy - Stars: Lázaro Ramos, Leandra Leal, Luana Piovani e Pedro CardosoThis movie involves some conflicts experienced by André (Lázaro Ramos) a young shy and humble Brazilian who works in a copier to help his mother.
The fact of moving away from the big centers in Brazil - São Paulo and Rio - is one of the interesting points that the film presents.André is very shy, and therefore an observer.
He decides to buy a gift for his mother, to get closer to Silvia, or at least to try, Silvia suggests a nightshirt, but this costs R$ 38.00 and André doesn't have the money.Lack of money is a big problem in his life, which can be seen already in the first scene of the movie.
In other words, he gets what he wanted: money, lots of money.The film is narrated by André himself, which leads us to get an idea of how he perceives things, sees the world and his particularities.
Perhaps there is some ambiguity in the title of this film, André, the man who copied leads a repetitive and somewhat dull life: his days are like copies, nothing happens, nothing changes, just the same thing, every day; and for him a little money would make all the difference in his life.This is the second feature film directed by Jorge Furtado, who was born in the city where the film is set.
Winner of several film festivals around the world, highly recommended and successful in Brazil and outside also, it's a very interesting story to think about money and happiness..
Like I read in another person's comment, this film makes me want to look for other Brazilian films.
Lazaro Ramos and Pedro Cardoso are an incredible actors.The dialogues are intelligent,clever and fun and this is very rare to find in a film today.The end is totally unexpected and makes that you love even more this film.And the theme that sounds with the credits is the perfect end.
Last year in Spain,Localia TV ,aired O HOMEM QUE COPIAVA,TOLERANCIA and SAL DE PRATA (in august 2006) and since then i felt in love with this movie.I need to watch every month this film..
I'm a bit suspect to talk about this movie because it was shot in the city where I live (André, the main character, appears working in the same supermarket in which i usually go and I've already been in the stationery where he also worked) and the editor was my teacher at the University (I study journalism).
And then he makes this second one.The proportions of this "O Homem Que Copiava" (aka The Man Who Copied) are a hundred times bigger than Furtado's first feature.
André (Lázaro Ramos) is eighteen and a photocopier operator in Porto Alegre (capital of Rio Grande do Sul) who lives in a tiny condo with his mother (whose face is never clearly seen).
When the movie starts, he already has a binocular, for which he saved money for a long time.
Lázaro Ramos's André is a very shy guy, but not dumb, that just wants to marry the girl loves.
Leandra Leal is doing a perfect job as Sílvia, a girl that dreams of going to Rio De Janeiro and meet a guy who was a very good friend of her mother's--and that might be her father.
Jorge Furtado conducted the actors in very nice way and the various formats used throughout the movie are original.
The movie is sensitive and makes you enter in character mind, something like "what do I do if I were him at this time".Andre is the typical honest guy that goes to the wrong way, but do not lose his characteristic of to be a good boy - the direction and acting are perfect at this point -, making you think that, although all the crimes involved, the characters made the best choice for your own lives.Good acting!
After that, the movie falls into a unbelievable cartoonish sequence of events that makes the time you spent with the first 2/3 of the film worthless.To someone outside Brazil, I think surely is a different experience that's why the reviews are so positive.
(The story stuck with me for a while, and I spent some time discussing it with the friend I saw it with.) It's the depth, the incongruities that kept me thinking about it, that makes me like it.
"O Homem que Copiava" ("The Copy Guy") is a great example of how the movies made in Brazil need not to be restricted to the "Rio de Janeiro-Favela-Mundo Cão" formula.
And gets wide recognition in despite, or maybe because, of it.It's a movie that is light and fun, without being dumb - The characters quickly become dear to the audience, and you just can't help but to cheer for them.The movie makes very good use of its few darker moments as well - Like the troubled relationship between Silvia and her Father, or the resolution given to it.The leading quartet of actors is top-notch, and it's, IMO, a proof of good quality that the worst of the four onscreen is Pedro Cardoso - An acomplished and talented comedian that, unlike the rest of the protagonists, can't manage to speak with the typical "gaúcho" accent..
Jorge Furtado made the best motion picture of his whole generation of Brazilian film directors, and this is maybe the best movie of all Brazilian cinema.
However he has only ever made contact with her at her shop and has to find money to buy things from her, the first of many problems that his strange relationship with her presents him with.The curious title drew me to this film and I was drawn in further with the stylish and slick delivery, which mixes comedy with drama, animation with live action and is all held together with a strong central turn from Ramos.
That said the story does work well enough to engage and the breezy pace makes up for some of the weakest in the material.As writer and director though Furtado has done a good job of taking this comic love/stalking tale and building it up from minor problems over money into a bigger story that has a happy ending.
Peeping Tom. Andre, a young man who works in a small stationary store in Porto Alegre, Brazil, has to struggle to make ends meet.
In watching the girl, Andre discovers her father, a security guard, spies on her while she is in the bathroom.As it turns out, Andre, who operates the photocopying machine at the store, gets to meet the object of his affection by following her all the way to the place where she works, where he pretends to be looking for a present for his mother.
Since his funds are limited, and with the arrival of a new color machine, Andre finds a way to get his hands in some money, which involves copying a bill.At the same time, through Marines, a woman who works with Andre, he gets to meet Cardoso, a man who sees an opportunity to get rich in two ways, passing fake bills and even attempting to hold up a bank by surprising the guards.
Imagine Andre's surprise when the combination he played at the lottery is the winner!Jorge Furtado, the director of this entertaining Brazilian film, shows he is a natural for this type of comedy.
Luana Poivani and Pedro Cardoso are seen as Marines and Cardoso, who are also tied to all the action in the film.At the conclusion of the story we are shown how Silvia knew what Andre was up to from the start in a funny way.
The movie starts pretty much with Andre (Lazaro Ramos) having a crush on Sylvia (Leandra Leal)which he has only a remote chance of going out with.
It starts as a simple love story, but then things get complicated as he and his friends work together to get what they need in their lives.
Jorge Furtado (director)doesn't only makes us think about the true significance and motivation of money, but also how far are people willing to obtain love.
While I didn't expect the ending, since the viewer is seeing the movie from Andre's perspective.
Pedro Cardoso gets this film into a whole new level and is perfect for his role, what felt like a mere "cameo" by him turned into the best character in the film.
Luava Piovani seems to be a cameo-based character that got WAY too many lines.This movie feels like "Ilha das Flores" meets "Small Time Crooks".
It's about a poor teenager, Andre who's in love with Silvia, who lives near him.
The movie title is about how Andre first photocopies money - but soon it leads to an obsession.
He soon gets the girl; Silvia, and with friends Marines and Cardoso, begin a huge plot to get rich in other ways.
The Man Who Copied was a comfortable movie with the twist at the end.