As it was a documentary, I held off from watching Manda Bala for a pretty long time, despite the intriguing cover art and synopsis. I am sort of mad that I held off for so long, since I was surprised to find that it was really quite good.
In Brazil, especially the Sao Paulo district, political corruption runs rampant, as do the equally powerful kidnapping and crime rings in the city slums. The film begins by introducing a frog farm owner, who claims he would “never harm frogs in the wild”, but harvests them for various reasons at his business. The scenes and descriptions of how the farm works are extremely well-done, and are the most stylistically done sequences of the film.
In the beginning, it’s hard to figure out just where the film is going, since so many different themes are presented, and it’s difficult to tell how they’re tied together (such as a woman describing her experience in being kidnapped in contrast with the frog farm). However, once the film gets into full swing, and it’s revealed that the frog farm was in fact part of a money laundering scheme by fraudulent government officials, there are some powerful and eye-opening statements made.
One of the major and most interesting sub-topics shown is of a plastic surgeon, who in wake of the influx of ear-severing occurring during kidnappings, has developed a revolutionary new way to rebuild the ear. It is fascinating, yet at the same time frustrating, seeing this man set to work, when in reality he is merely making profit off of other people’s suffering. Because on one hand, he is helping them fix their deformities and help them out after such a traumatic experience, but in the other hand, he is making them pay immense amounts of money to get it done.
The film as a whole is extremely stylized, with perfectly timed ironic jibes and the metaphorical use of the frogs in representing Brazilian society. It is often hilarious to see the film-makers begin their interviews so friendly and casual, and then ask a blunt, precise question that renders the subject speechless. The best is when they get to interview Jader Barbalho, the maestro of the most diabolical of the money embezzlement schemes. The interview begins with friendly questions as to his policy—and ends with Jader walking out of the room after being asked about a certain frog ranch. The film-maker’s sense of irony and darkly exploitative humor is what makes the movie so compelling as a whole, and so powerful in the end.
Some of the subjects that Jason Kohn managed to talk with are extremely impressive, and one of these is a kidnapper/bank-robber from the Sao Paulo slums. Some of the things revealed in this interview are the most disturbing yet overwhelmingly moving things said in the film. It is amazing that one cannot bring themself to hate this man that is so clearly ruthless and would kill most people without a thought, because he is so oblivious to the wrong that he is doing. The only reason he does it is because he has to in order to survive—and help his entire neighborhood to survive. His final lines are profoundly emotional and eye-opening.
Manda Bala is a very good documentary. It is very easy to see why it garnered such apparent acclaim, and won the Sundance best documentary. Not only is its subject and ideas important, but it is carried out in a way that is fresh, stylish, and entertaining.