"Rio, I Love You" is part of a movie series focusing on cities (previous entries focused on New York and Paris). We have here a collection of vignettes depicting various and sundry events in Rio de Janeiro. My personal favorite was Nadine Labaki's "O Milagre" starring Harvey Keitel, but I'd say that the most important vignette was José Padilha's "Inútil Paisagem". The protagonist hang-glides over the city and tells Christ the Redeemer about the problems that continue to plague Brazil: crime, wealth disparity, and other things.
It was probably appropriate that the movie got released two years before the Rio Olympics. A lot of attention would get focused on the metropolis, but countless issues haunted the city. Probably most controversial was that the Olympics became a vanity project for Dilma Rousseff, and she forced people off their land to make room for the stadium (which is certain to never get used again). To make matters worse, the parliament forced her out of office right before the games - basically a constitutional coup - and now the oligarchy is back in power.
Anyway, it's a good movie. Also appearing are John Turturro, Fernanda Montenegro, Emily Mortimer and Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies).
It was probably appropriate that the movie got released two years before the Rio Olympics. A lot of attention would get focused on the metropolis, but countless issues haunted the city. Probably most controversial was that the Olympics became a vanity project for Dilma Rousseff, and she forced people off their land to make room for the stadium (which is certain to never get used again). To make matters worse, the parliament forced her out of office right before the games - basically a constitutional coup - and now the oligarchy is back in power.
Anyway, it's a good movie. Also appearing are John Turturro, Fernanda Montenegro, Emily Mortimer and Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies).