Reviewed at the 2008 Palm Springs International Film Festival
(2007, 110 min) What would the opposite of a police procedural be? A prisoner procedural? Well, if you ever wondered what it would be like to be a political prisoner, tortured and persecuted and paranoid, this is the film for you. Based on the writings of a survivor, this compelling drama covers the dark dictatorship of Brazil during the late '60s and early '70s and their rebellious/terroristic opposition in the ALN.
Tito is a padre of a Catholic sect with communistic leanings, focusing on helping the poor. A plan by him and three fellow brothers goes awry, and they find themselves at the brutal hands of the not-so-ironically named "The Pope." The centerpiece here is their methodical torture, portrayed in graphic detail: naked, upside-down, flogged, electrocuted, repeatedly. Unfortunately, nothing that follows can possibly live up to this sequence; if that weren't anticlimatic enough, director Helvecio Ratton utilizes the lazy device of revealing the end of the story in the first scene, making it a chore to get to Tito's ultimate fate. But there's enough vivid detail in the pain of being a political prisoner to make this film a recommended watch.
© TLA Entertainment Group
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