watch
Bus 174 (Jose Padilha) 2002
Stellar documentary charting the day young Sandro do Nascimentio, raised on the streets of Rio decided to take a city bus and its passengers hostage. Whilst actual footage of the incident that was broadcast live on national television offers proceedings drama and suspense, “Speed” this is not. Padilha is fascinated and one suspects deeply troubled by the chain of events that led Sandro onto that bus, brandishing a pistol in June of 2000. The director travels deep into his nation’s psyche and uncovers a brutal reform system, a large, disenfranchised section of the population, gang violence perpetrated by sometimes vicious youths and a police force wavering between immoral and incompetent often due to a lack of funds and training. The film’s most harrowing, impressive scene follows the camera into an impossibly bleak Rio jail to interview several inmates with an infrared lens presumably to protect their identity. Throughout, Padilha introduces us to several positive influences in young Sandro’s life, a tough edged social worker, a kind hearted surrogate mother and his beautiful aunt. Even his former prison guard proves an unexpectedly humane figure when describing the plight of Sandro and his fellow inmates while incarcerated. Eventually though, Sandro is a product of a violent, desperate environment. A triumph. 4.5/5
stream@:https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Bus_174?id=bmRGynvZMT4
City of Men (Paulo Morelli) Douglas Silva, Darlan Cunha. 2007.
A spiritual follow up to 2003’s now classic City of God, Men doesn’t quite scale the heights of the film it was inspired by. Morelli’s film skimps somewhat on the cocksure bravado and hyper-kinetic energy of C.O.G whilst doubling down on its uninspired dialogue and loose plotting. This tale of a pair of childhood buddies navigating their way through a tough Rio slum in the midst of a gang war is a well trodden path for sure, but it finds redemption through two compelling performances from its fresh faced leads. Men is also a stunningly shot movie, and when the onscreen machinations are less than riveting the city in question, with its beautiful coastline, lush vegetation and beguiling, terrifying favelas visually dominates. 2.5/5
stream@: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=City+of+Men&c=movies
Bruna Surfistinha (Marcus Baldini) Deborah Secco, Cassio Gabus. 2011
Inspired by true but largely unremarkable events, Bruna is the story of a teenage runaway who flies the coop in order to try her hand at the worlds oldest profession. Little insight is given into Bruna’s motivation other than “I ran away from home so I wouldn’t have to depend on anyone” a message blunted somewhat by a postscript that reveals our heroine finally quit the life in order to shack up with a former client! Whilst Secco is perfectly likeable in the title role, a more astute choice for a shy, awkward misfit might have been an actress not sporting a ready made boob job. As the action ticks along at a rapid clip there are some very powerful scenes to digest, some witty lightweight interludes and even a montage, but perhaps this is the main problem. This movie is never quite sure what it wants to be. 2.5/5
stream@: https://www.netflix.com/title/70234519
listen
Jorge Ben Jor
The bossa nova don is probably best known to English speaking listeners by way of having a song covered by the Black Eyed Peas but try not to hold that against him. Listening to Ben’s early albums as a music fan wearied to the verge of self harm by the guff that pollutes modern radio is a surreal treat. Mellifluous vibrancy radiates from the speakers as debut album Samba Esquema Novo bounces through 12 brief tracks that often end as they appear to be taking off. No matter, the next one along wastes no time immersing the listener into its groove. The aforementioned Mas Que Nada kicks things off beautifully and the record on the whole is a gorgeous listen. Mid career gems like O Telefone and Mulher Brasileira off Ben’s politically minded Forca Bruta album are equally lush. Dive in.
Jorge Ben Jor’s albums are available to download on Spotify.
read
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, Jorge Amado. 1966
Amado’s fondly remembered 1966 novel is a problematic read by today’s complex moral standards. A plot concerning a young woman whose first husband, a rascal of the highest order, dies of a heart attack only to return from the great beyond to wreak havoc once she has remarried sounds quaint enough. Dona Flor’s first hubby however is a #metoo era nightmare. Vadinho spends his page time on the mortal coil blowing a small fortune on gambling and prostitutes and stealing his wife’s hard earned by force when necessary. Upon his return, Vadinho alternates between luring his old flame back into the sack and copping feels from the unwitting local beauties. Add in several instances of casual homophobia and you have a bumpy ride in 2018. However, approached with the necessary laid-back mind state, much of this can be passed off as a relic of its time and perhaps even a nudge-wink from the author acknowledging the limitations of his characters. What is not in question is that Amado has crafted a loving, vibrant and endlessly descriptive portrait of 1960’s Brazil and more specifically Bahia. He writes with a prose that regularly delights and describes his gallery of rogues with a fondness and fascination that recalls Garcia Marquez. At 550 pages the novel is overlong but deliberately so, a carefree meander that mirrors the urgency and ambitions of its protagonists.
eat and drink
Braza Churrascaria
1-25 Harbour St, Darling Harbour
Traditional Churrasco all you can eat
Caipirinhas
If you like barbecued meat on a skewer (and let’s face it, what’s not to like?) then chances are you’ll enjoy your dalliance at Braza. Truckloads of tender cuts are ferried to your table and sliced on to your plate by super attentive waiters and you find yourself filling up pretty quickly. However, at pretty steep $58 a head make sure you’re packing an appetite for destruction. Focus on the rump and lamb and don’t bother saving room for the prawns which on this night at least were overcooked and disappointing. The pineapple is a definite highlight and it all goes down unsurprisingly well with Brazil’s national drink, the Caipirinha (rum based cocktail.) In truth one gets the feeling that all this is a Brazillian dining experience for the instagram generation. All good fun, a filling if somewhat soul-less and, one suspects, not actually all that traditional night out.
goal of the month
Fun Bobby Firminho puts Arsenal out of there misery and confirms Liverpool as favourites for the EPL title with this fine solo effort.