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Reviews
Human (2015)
I just can't stop watching it
When I picked up this movie to watch on my airplane when returning from a business trip, I couldn't imagine that it would affect me so deeply, in such an intense way I could never expect. Right, I love travelogues such as "Le Peuple Migrateur" and "Himalaya", but this one absolutely blew up my biggest expectations.
"Human" makes us dive into a journey of empathy for other human beings; a journey where you are going to laugh; where you are going to cry; where you are going to identify yourself to some of the histories which may be even your own history; where, I hope, that you may see that even if we are so different, in the end we are so equal.
The version I saw had a big plus side - other from José Mujica, former Uruguayan president who is well known here in Latin America, there were no other "big shots" on screen - what you see and what you listen is the voice of people like you and me, who talk about love, about angry, about injustice, about despair, about the experience of being alive. This quality is kept on the extended version of the movie, which makes some statements longer and fuller in details.
The movie can be watched on its entirety on YouTube, where longer versions of the interviews can be seen and the first name of the interviewee and his country are shown. Don't miss them, they make a beautiful complement to the movie.
For closing up this commentary, more than never empathy is an article in dire need here in Brazil nowadays, and I hope that many people can see this movie and look to the people besides them and see them in a different light - I really do, after watching it. At almost 47, I never expected that a movie could still change the way I see people and see life in general, but this one accomplished the feat. Thanks for everybody who made this experience possible, I will be forever grateful to you.
Childhood's End (2015)
Full of religious and supernatural overtones
The following review may have some spoilers below.
I always rant to my wife that there are so good science fiction stories floating along that don't see the screen (and probably will never be seen there). Meanwhile, we're left with superhero movies and remakes that occupy all of the bandwidth available. That's why I get very excited when I heard about an adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke's novel "The Childhood's End" had been done for television. And the best of all, in just three parts, so it perhaps could feel just like a real movie. Alas, they missed the mark. Badly.
Still, the first chapter showed a lot of potential, following the the first part book almost verbatim despite some modernization the scriptwriters chose to put into. Despite the romantic subplots (which I will not spoil here) and the religious bull (Overlords as gods, omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient), it was watchable because it managed to recreate the suspense that accompanies the book throughout its first part and the beginning of the second part of the book.
I noticed that things started to go wrong already at the beginning of the second part, which started with a rendition of John Lennon's "Imagine". Of course, there is no better song to describe Utopia, right? Subtle as an elephant in a Dresden shop. Subtleness does not stop here: the movie wanders stupidly and firmly into the field of the supernatural, and sometimes you'll feel like you're watching a mix of "Poltergeist" with "Walking Dead"; other moment brings backs memories of "The Omen" - only the devilish music was missing, and this is something what is light years away from the original intent of the book.
Finally, the last chapter adds insult to injury, cutting all but one description which are depicted on the third part part of the book. I just imagined how beautiful the imagined worlds by Clarke would appear on the (big?) screen, but all that is left is a big disappointment. The Overlords' world is seen only from their spaceship, and the time that could had been spent showing aspects of their world (which ARE described on the book) are left behind. They preferred to "explore" the Overmind, something that the Overlords are clearly unable to do in the book ("I will not deceive you. We can study and observe, as we are doing already. But we cannot interfere, because we cannot understand", says another Overlord on the book).
In short, it was a big disappointment and this is why I'm so angry writing this. Had the team that developed this had believed on the intelligence of their audience, the result could be much better. Even if the history of the book has been respected as a whole, the producers found the stupid details they changed and introduced into the story more important than the original story itself, and this ruined the entire experience to me.
Vinicius (2005)
It was good, but it could be better (little spoilers ahead)
This is a documentary about one of the masters of 20th century popular Brazilian music, Vinicius de Moraes. The documentary is conducted by two actors and contemporary Brazilian singers (some not even so contemporary) which make an imaginary show, and the stories of Vinicius are retold having his poems and songs as a starting point. Despite its length (124 minutes), lovers of Brazilian music in general and lovers of Vinicius particularly won't feel that the movie was that long, since the histories told by his friends, his lovers and wives and his family are a joy to hear and to know about.
However, the movie doesn't tell only the happy and fun parts of Vinicius' life; one of his daughters remembers the problems with money the family had and the time when Vinicius and her mother divorced. You can feel that this is an uncomfortable subject, as she makes her feelings about it very clear during the interviews. There are also numerous videos of Vinicius, including footage of one of the "Viniciadas" he promoted at his house and touching images from the end of his life, where he is together with Toquinho and his wife at the time.
So, why just 8/10? Well, the rap segment is a failed tentative to show the social worries of Vinicius, and as it is, it just does not fit to the rest of the movie and could be deleted with no problems - a good place for it would be an extra to be included on the movie's DVD. Adding insult to the injury, the wonderful "Poema Enjoadinho" ("Filhos, melhor não tê-los!") was not included on the movie; it just appeared later in the DVD release as an extra, and it could had been one the better and most emotional moments in the movie.
Other thing that really distressed me was that the director chose not to play "Samba da Bênção" on its entirety at the end credits! Why not just show a black screen when the text was over and let the music flow? I would certainly listen to it! For me, this is the ultimate legacy and message of Vinicius, and cutting it abruptly in the half shows a strange lack of sensibility and respect - sensibility and respect which was so well expressed throughout the movie.
Despite these flaws, this movie is highly recommended for everyone who loves Brazilian music and its histories. (Yes, Brasil is written with "s".)