World Cinema Report: Brazil

[Ed’s note: This month Bruno keeps tabs on the Heitor Dhalia’s big in scope project, updates us on César Charlone’s festival fav, and let’s us know what Fernando Meirelles is up to.]

Setting Sail

Heitor Dhalia (director from Drained, chosen as the best Brazilian movie of 2006) is about to begin shooting his third movie. Called À Deriva (Adrift), the story is described as a portrait of the first generation of children whose parents are divorcing. A 14 year old immerses into the adult’s world when she finds out that her father is having an affair. The cast is composed by the French actor Vincent Cassel (from “Irréversible” and “Eastern
Promises”) as the father, the American actress Camilla Belle (from the hits “10,000 B.C.” and “A Little Princess”) as the mistress and the Brazilian actresses Débora Bloch and Taís Araujo. The shooting starts in April in Brazil.

Dreaming Big

The Pope’s Toilet (co-production between Uruguay, Brazil and France) is the first incursion of the Uruguayan, but settled in Brazil cinematographer César Charlone does the double duty of director and writer, tasks that he shares with Enrique Fernández. The film is produced by Fernando Meirelles, who had Charlone as cinematographer in his last three movies, including “Blindness”.

The scenery is the city of Melo, a Uruguayan rural village located close to the border of Brazil. The protagonist, Beto (César Troncoso), and his best friend, Valvulina (Mario Silva), work by moving goods across the border, from the Brazilian part to their hometown utilizing their old bikes. Beto’s family is composed by his wife, the loyal Carmen (Virginia Méndez), and their daughter, the dreamer Silvia (Virginia Ruiz). In an environment marked by the poverty and corruption, a scheduled visit of the pope the city fills Melo’s population with hope. Amazed by the economic possibilities caused by the tourism, everyone, including Beto, searches ways to boost their budget with the Pope’s visit.

The movie was chosen as the official Uruguayan selection for this year’s Academy Awards. After been shown in festivals such as Cannes Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival and Guadalajara Film Festival, where it was pointed by the jury as a potential Golden Globe nominee, “The Pope’s Toilet” is now hitting theaters around the globe. With a notable photography and a smart script, the movie is image of honesty and humbleness of people in extreme situations. The characters sometimes may sound innocent but as the film goes, they reveal their complex ethic questions and doubts. On top of that, it’s a story of struggle, popular wisdom and dreams.

“Blindness” coming to light

Blindness, the new movie from Fernando Meirelles has just got a teaser poster – and a trailer. This means that the picture is pretty much in the can and looks readied for a Cannes premiere. The highly anticipated movie is an adaptation of the Jose Saramago’s novel “Ensaio sobre a Cegueira” and features the stunning cast of Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Gael Garcial Bernal, Danny Glover and the Brazilian actress Alice Braga. This opens in the U.S on September 12th.

Franchise re-birth?

Fernando Meirelles is rumored to direct what would be his third movie outside Brazil. By Any Means
Necessary is an original story based on the Tom Clancy’s books character Jack Ryan. Ryan Gosling has signed onto play the protagonist. Still, there are no confirmations of Meirelles’s participation on the movie.

The Fragile Line

Believed as one the highest points of the Brazilian cinema in 2007, the documentary “Playing” is premiering at the 2008 edition of the Tribeca Movie Festival. Directed by the widely awarded director of documentaries Eduardo Coutinho, the film is a result of interviews with 23 different women, selected by a newspaper adds. Their stories are, then, transformed in scripts and played by actresses (including some important nouns of the Brazilian dramaturgy like Fernanda Torres, Andréa Beltrão and Marília Pêra). Besides being an authentic and emotional narration of those stories, the movie reveals how fragile the line between the documentary and the fiction is. That, obviously, thanks to Coutinho’s ability of letting his interviewees comfortable and the actress’s talents.

Still at Tribeca…

Elite Squad is getting a screening on April 24th. Redbelt, the action American movie directed by David Mamet that features the two most promising Brazilian actors in the international cinema, Rodrigo Santoro (“Behind the Sun” and “300”) and Alice Braga (“Lower City” and “I am legend”), is also premiering at the festival.