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Reviews
Little Armadillos (1984)
LA Confidential
Ahhhh, 1984.... I was young and stupid, and just developing a taste for those exotic cigarettes, whilst living in a squat in Manchester's Moss Side, with the most unbelievable case of cockroach infestation.
After a few of those doobies, this show was ROTFLMAO material - I was an avid fan. Then I'd look down at the floor (or up at the walls, or just about anywhere) and see my very own collection of "little armadillos" scuttling about.
Not sure if it was the chemical enhancement, but I remember thinking at the time that the overt surrealism of the show was fantastic - it was my second favourite thing on TV at the time (#1 was the season of Luis Bunuel movies being shown by Channel 4). Radical art lives on!
Also you gotta that theme tune! ....I swear, I'll never drink no more....
Ônibus 174 (2002)
This ain't no action movie!
....shouts Sandro, the central character, to the voyeuristic TV cameras, as his real-life predicament spirals towards its tragic and brutal denouement.
And he's right - this film is far more compelling and dramatic than any Hollywood product - also far more poignant and touching.
Director Padhila shows extraordinary skill in building the story to an unforgettable climax. When I watched this movie at a Manchester cinema, there were only 30 or so people in the theatre - but the silence at the close of the film was astonishing. The entire audience walked out in stunned speechlessness.
If you were impressed by "City of God", check out this slice of real life from Rio de Janiero - a world-class piece of documentary-making, and a stinging indictment of the divisions that scar Brazilian society.