Brazil Film News: Local Scene
A new record
Brazilian cinema has just witnessed the rise of a new phenomenon at the movie theaters. The movie in question is called “Se eu fosse voce 2” (“If I were you 2”), a sequel for the 2006’s already big hit “Se eu fosse voce”. The achievement. The film became, in only its first few weeks of release, the biggest Brazilian box-office since its rebirth in 1995. A few weeks later, a new impressive record has been set: based on the profits made through theater exhibitions, it managed to enter the top 5 in history (along with the three “Spider-man” franchises and “Titanic”). The numbers gain are that much more impressive due to the poor performances at that the Brazilian box office last year (one of the worst since 95).
The Story
Like the first film, this second part is about the couple Claudio (Tony Ramos) and Helena (Gloria Pires) who, by universal forces, exchange bodies again. The difference is that, now, their marriage is on the rocks and their 18 year-old daughter has become pregnant. The romantic comedy counts on the same ingredients of the first one: some situations caused by the cross-over of brains between a man and a woman, some peripheral plots and, the inconvenient most important: an overwhelming collection of clichés. Predictable situations, low-brow dialogue and even one of those artificial, but cheerful dance sequences manages to make itself in the feature. Let’s say it’s a crowd pleaser, not a critical success, but there are some qualities worth pointing out. Pires and Ramos seem to be really comfortable on screen and they are, by far, the best thing about the movie – they are certainly responsible for a few good laughs. With this light story, “Se eu fosse…” has built the most diversified profile of audience ever seen on a Brazilian feature, filling movie theaters from children to elders. The informality and the lightness brought about by such a concoction is a rare sight in the biz.
Hollywood Style
The third part has already been greenlighted and is expected to hit the theaters in 2011.
Brazilian family comedies?
Despite not being exported into other territories, international audiences accustomed to Brazil product such as “City of God” and “Central Station” might not know it but family/romantic comedies are one the most important genres exploited by the Brazilian industry. It all began in 2001 with the comedy “A Partilha” (“The Inheritance”), which tells the story of four completely different sisters who need to solve problems involving an inheritance and their own relationships with one another. It became a huge hit and, since them, the production (and public) of these comedies only grew. “A Grande Familia” (“The Great Family”), “Os Normais” (“The Normals”), “Se eu fosse você” and “Sexo, Amor e Traicao” (“Sex, Love and Betrayal”, a remake of the Mexican big hit “Sexo, Pudor y Lagrimas”), all made it into the Brazilian top ten and successively broke records.
Not the same luck…
… had some others family/romantic comedies such as “Viva Voz” (“Speaker Phone”), “Avassaladoras” and “Mais Uma Vez Amor” (“Once Again Love”). Their B-O numbers also impressed, but other films wouldn’t have been as successful if they hadn’t paved the way for other pictures.
Brazil Film News: International Scene
And Oscar goes to…
… not Brazil. This year, our Brazilian nomination for “Best Foreign Movie”, “Last Stop 174” didn’t make it even to the final lists. In my opinion, the whole problem was the advertisement campaign adopted for the movie. In Brazil, it failed to make any kind of impact with an average box-office showing. Despite a couple of world film festival showings, including Toronto, I imagine that things were a lot worse. Perhaps it is the messy situation that occurred due to the new academy rules. To be in a position to be nominated, the movie had to have a premiere in only one movie theater in the whole country before its actual theatrical roll-out. Actually, even though it was a solid film, I personally question the choice of it as our representative for the Academy Awards. We had a good collection of worthy choices in “Casa de Alice” (“Alice’s house”), “Meu nome nao e Johnny”(“My name ain’t Johnny”), “O Ceu de Suely” (“Suely’s Sky”) and my personal favorite “Estomago” (“Estômago: A Gastronomic Story”).
City of Stallone
Sylvester Stallone came to Brazil late last year. He was looking for locations for his next project (As writer, director and actor) “The Expendables”. He visited some favelas from Rio caused a great commotion in the media. After that, he started his quest for a Brazilian actress to star his movie. Cleo Pires (Estrella’s boyfriend from “My name ain’t Johnny”) was his original first choice but she had to turn it down due to other commitments. The gossip columns indicate Giselle Itie (a former TV actress) as his new choice. Nothing has been confirmed.
Compulsive cinephile Bruno Braganca resides in Campinas and is completing his senior year in Communication Studies.
