Walter Salles, whose film this is, also directed Central Station, one of my all-time favourite films - and one on a few director's top 10 lists also. Along with his excellent biopic The Motorcycle Diaries, I rate Salles a world-leading director.
So, when renowned and respected film critic David Parkinson was rather short with his praises, I didn't want to believe him. He said of under all the beautifully shot landscapes and evocative images, the whole lacked emotional depth. At times, it does seem that the star is the cinematography and a bit more rawness might make the characters more approachable and real.
The story itself is a fairly savage one, one of feudal dispute that ritually ends in a seemingly sacrificial death, between neighbours, over land. Set against the early 1900's production of sugar cane molasses, we have the 20 yr old Tonho,(Rodrigo Santoro) son of a farmer (Jose Dumont) who is condemned to die if he carries out a feudal pact. His younger brother, known only as 'the kid', helps knit the story together and as a cheeky youngster keeps it fresh and approachable, often with a naive fantasy element that helps with the otherwise heavy-ish subject matter.
When a beautiful young circus trapeze artist rolls into town, Tonho embarks on a journey of sexual and self discovery with her and this becomes a nicely distracting theme of the film until it finally changes tack and back to the original story.
I could have given this five stars - the storytelling and the aforementioned imagery could warrant that alone but it is quite a bit down on the other two Salle's works I referred to at the beginning. However, if you like a good story, presented in a quite straightforward but beautiful way, that involves people living in semi poverty but always hoping for a better life, then this could be for you. Add the unusualness of its raw, rural Brazilian landscapes and some touches of directorial flourishes along with the genuinely superb photography, then this makes it even more appealing.
So, when renowned and respected film critic David Parkinson was rather short with his praises, I didn't want to believe him. He said of under all the beautifully shot landscapes and evocative images, the whole lacked emotional depth. At times, it does seem that the star is the cinematography and a bit more rawness might make the characters more approachable and real.
The story itself is a fairly savage one, one of feudal dispute that ritually ends in a seemingly sacrificial death, between neighbours, over land. Set against the early 1900's production of sugar cane molasses, we have the 20 yr old Tonho,(Rodrigo Santoro) son of a farmer (Jose Dumont) who is condemned to die if he carries out a feudal pact. His younger brother, known only as 'the kid', helps knit the story together and as a cheeky youngster keeps it fresh and approachable, often with a naive fantasy element that helps with the otherwise heavy-ish subject matter.
When a beautiful young circus trapeze artist rolls into town, Tonho embarks on a journey of sexual and self discovery with her and this becomes a nicely distracting theme of the film until it finally changes tack and back to the original story.
I could have given this five stars - the storytelling and the aforementioned imagery could warrant that alone but it is quite a bit down on the other two Salle's works I referred to at the beginning. However, if you like a good story, presented in a quite straightforward but beautiful way, that involves people living in semi poverty but always hoping for a better life, then this could be for you. Add the unusualness of its raw, rural Brazilian landscapes and some touches of directorial flourishes along with the genuinely superb photography, then this makes it even more appealing.