Bacurau

Bacurau

First of all, I must say it's a movie kinda easy to dislike, since it don't explain every single detail of the story. That's because it isn't a blockbuster film: it has a complex backstory that doesn't need to be explained (I'd say similar do Mad Max in that aspect). However, it doesn't make it a bad movie: it just leave the background for your imagination, and it perfectly sustains the main plot, which is very good. The story is about a small Brazilian village, from the northeast region. It shows in a very warmth way how they deal with they daily struggle in a society that seems to be a bit of a distopy. The plot it general is a little bit of drama, Brazilian western, thriller and a pinch of syfy cult (mainly due the superb soundtrack, that is very psychedelic). Also, it's kinda slow pacing movie, maybe similar to Tarantino (even in the violence). And with that I make my only negative point: the movie is too serious and a little bit of humour would've make it better. However, the pacing in general is very good. Besides the OST, the pacing and the plot, it has a great photography and acting, that is very natural and human. As a Brazilian, I can say some of the Brazilian movies has bad dialogues, since some try to copy foreign movies; and that is one of the critics the movie does. Also, they criticise how Brazil devalues their own culture, although it's very rich (wich is a big paradox). The film itself shows a lot of culture from Brazil, specially from the countryside regions. Some would say the lines were cliche, but that's because how reality is in the Brazil. In general, it's a great movie. A little bit violent and strange, but in a very good way. It isn't perfect, but it's very good and can serve as an example for future Brazilian movies.

One of the strangest films I've seen, in any language, but it must have been good because I'm still processing it a day or two later. The underlying meaning and the intent are not too far off the mark - we're all targeted, hunted and sacrificed by factions that seek to profit from our misfortune, lack of opportunity, demographic, vulnerability and fear; especially when amplified by poverty - if we don't look after ourselves, nobody will. One for all and all for one!

If this movie doesn't compete for at least one Oscar I'll know it's because of prejudice against Brazil.

This film was clearly very well made and kept my interest and attention throughout. But I couldn't rate it higher than a six because I found all the gruesome violence too much to handle and because I left with far too many unanswered questions. Exactly who was the group of foreigners and were they just killing for sport? Who were their Brazilian accomplices and how was the mayor involved? What exactly was the problem with the water? What had Lunga done to make him go into hiding? How can such a small village support full-time prostitutes? What was the director trying to say? Like an abstract painting in a gallery which requires you to read 5 paragraphs of text to fully understand and appreciate it, there was just too much about this film that I didn't 'get'. For me, it's OK to generate an air of mystery so long as most of the audience's questions are answered by the end of the film. Not so in this case.

The first half was interesting. Scenes of an impoverish inner-country small rural down, somewhere where desertification is advancing, and the small community is slowly dying. The characters where presented, and it got interesting. But then, somewhere at half-time, things started going haywire. A flying saucer. A couple of mysterious motorcyclists dressed in kitsch bike outfits. English-speaking gun-toting tourists playing Terminator. Adding insult to injury, got tired of seeing the Brazilian stereotype of, the prostitute, having chain-sex inside the trailer while a waiting queue of men awaits outside.

Bacurau embraces so many strong topics: the endemic violence in Brazil, the gun culture and god complex of the US, social gap, political corruption, historical resistance of Nordeste (Brazil's Northeast region) and the "complexo de vira-lata" (inferiority complex) of the people by their own country. These are all packed in a mystery/thriller/western entertaining film set in the Sertão. It's already a classic and an important addition to Brazilian contemporary cinema.

.. but totally lost its edge half way thru I'm not going to spend many lines dissecting this film. In short without spoilers: Promising buildup turned lukewarm social justice zombie splatter with predictable ending. I feel cheated Hence the score 5/10 reflects the average of the first and second part together.

So bizarre. It's watchable and entertaining, but feels more like some crap thrown at a wall more than established ideas. It also features quite a lot of nudity and feels that it's done just for the sake of having a lot of nudity.

I have just watched Bacurau and I found it a great movie ! Very well filmed and directed. For non-Brazilians, it may seem surreal. However, the story is quite related to Brazilian politics as it ever was and it is: based on violence and exploitation.