leeroy711 Blog

Under discussion:

Manda Bala  (2007)

Manda Bala (2007)

**** out of 5 stars

Directed by Jason Kohn

Language: Portuguese with English subtitles

Running Time: 85 min

Synopsis:

Sao Paulo, Brazil is a city of 20 million strong. It is also one of the most dangerously violent cities in the world. Manda Bala is a documentary about frog farming, plastic surgery, kidnapping and the corruption that ties all of these very lucrative industries together

Review:

            I was a bit unsure of this one. Although I have found myself being drawn into them once I start them, I have never gotten very excited about watching documentaries. I was a bit apprehensive about one of them being my first Spout screener because I’m not sure I know how to review a documentary. They usually seem to be the type of film that you would see when an interest in that subject already exists. Oh well, I digress, it had all the makings of something I’d be interested in: fascinating synopsis, good cover art, frogs and subtitles.

First and foremost about this movie had to be the cinematography. This is not a trait you would necessarily associate with docs but this one just set the bar. The overall scenery was gorgeous, and some of the angles they used with the high speed camera, especially at the frog farm, peaked my interest. I also liked the ear replacement scene in the dimmed operating room.

I liked the music selection as well. I did think the sound editing was a little confused. It seemed that parts had the background music so loud that you couldn’t really hear the interviews. Of course, I don’t speak Portuguese anyway so I’m not sure exactly what I’m complaining about.

This movie also has a bit of footage from ransom tapes that are mixed in. As the film progresses, this clips continue to get more and more graphic. It actually is a little surprising that the director chose to put some of the more gut-wrenching scenes in because it comes up so gradually. I didn’t find this to be overly sensationalistic and if you are squeamish, you have plenty of time to close your eyes.

The problem I had with this documentary was that for the vast majority of it, I wasn’t sure of its thesis. I believe that the filmmaker (Kohn) was attempting to make a dramatic philosophical point, but it ultimately became clouded by the many different directions the rest of the film takes you. I think that what he was trying to say was that, if S.U.D.A.M. (a government program designed to re-distribute wealth to poorer regions) would have not been taken over by corruption and greed, Sao Paulo would be a dramatically different place. This may very well hold to be true, but didn’t we also learn that the same politicians who are corrupted by greed are staying in power by buying the vast majority of their votes with more social welfare programs in the slums?

I also was unsure about the message behind the part about the violent nature in which Portugal took over Brazil. Was his attempt to say that this type of behavior is so embedded into the culture of Brazil that the country’s future is doomed by its history?

After seeing all of the different industries that exist in Sao Paolo as a result of the kidnappings, I couldn’t help but to ask myself: How many residents would be out of work if the region became more secure. If people stopped bulletproofing their cars, hiring bodyguards, replacing their ears, taking helicopters to work, putting microchips in their body and taking advanced defensive driving courses, what would happen to that part of the economy? And more importantly, will we ever find out?

Regardless of anything I didn’t like about the movie, I would still have to recommend it. It was everything that you should want in a documentary. It was gripping from the opening scene and it keeps you absorbed with it right up until the closing credits. Any documentary should aspire to do what this one did, it pulled my interest into a subject that previously, I had none in.

Under discussion:

Taxi Driver  (1976)

American History X  (1998)

In America  (2002)

Dead Man's Shoes  (2006)

This is England  (2007)

***** out of 5 stars

Directed By: Shane Meadows
Starring: Paddy Considine, Toby Kebbell, and Gary Stretch

Language: English

Released: 2004

Synopsis:
This film is about a soldier, Richard (Considine) who returns home to his small town in the Midlands of England to take revenge on the group of thugs, led by Sonny (Stretch) that, years ago brutalized his mentally challenged brother, Anthony (Kebbell). He starts out with a carefully calculated plot designed to terrorize the group. But soon enough, he ups the ante, picking them off one by one in a fashion that leaves the remaining few begging for mercy.

As the story unfolds we learn piece by piece, the events that took place those many years ago that lead to Richard’s rage.

Review:
I can’t really say anything bad about this film as a whole; I fully enjoyed it and was very surprised at how well the scenes were put together on a seemingly limited budget. It seemed to pay homage somewhat to Taxi Driver (disillusioned veteran in green jacket goes on killing spree) while still staying true to its own story.

The acting was outstanding, especially in the case of Paddy Considine, who co wrote this story with director Shane Meadows. I don’t think I’ve seen him in anything since his superb performance in Jim Sheridan’s In America but I will be looking for his work in the future. Much like Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver, Considine pulled off a performance that not only was menacing and haunting, but still loveable and identifiable. Toby Kebbell, who played Richard’s mentally challenged brother, also put together a very believable act. And, in case you were wondering; no, Kebbel is not really mentally challenged. These two characters shared the majority of the screen time with a supporting cast of thuggish drug dealers who were who were also portrayed adequately.

This film is full of flashbacks which are all done in black and white. In this way, the format was similar to American History X. I didn’t find the black and white to be particularly elegant or artsy. I think it was just though of as the best and more distinct way to separate the ongoing story from the background. The camerawork I was more impressed with were in some of the more intense scenes leading up to the killings. I’ve read a few reviews of this film that painted to be a bit more “stylish” than I think it was but none the less, the cinematography was quite sufficient to help create some very thrilling scenes.

Possibly, the most fundamentally important aspect of this film was the character development of Richard. This was what created the bond between the story’s main character and the empathy of the audience. This was done wonderfully. There is no question, from this film’s opening narrative of: “God will forgive them. He'll forgive them and allow them into Heaven……….. I can't live with that.” to its dramatic finish, that Richard’s anger is completely justified. You will most definitely find yourself cheering for the monster throughout.

This was the first Shane Meadows film I’ve seen. His filmography on Spout reveals that this is his “Most disliked movie”, averaging only three stars. If this is an accurate depiction of what I should expect from the rest of his films, he will surely and quickly fall into becoming one of my new favorite directors. I am now very much looking forward to next week’s delivery of This Is England. It’s been very easy for me to fall for the work of some of these very intriguing British directors, such as Danny Boyle, Jim Sheridan and Guy Ritchie.

I give this film five stars and my full recommendation, primarily because this is the type of film that will not only make it very quickly to my collection, but it is one that I will surely be watching time and time again.