Raul Cortez Movies

Regina (Fernanda Montenegro) is a retired divorcée living in Rio de Janeiro. She's estranged from her only son and his family because he's invited his father to live with him. She's devoted to her dog, Betina, and occupies her spare time as a member of the police force's special senior citizen program. Regina, operating under the code name "Snow White" spends a lot of her time looking for wrongdoers to report to the police. She spends her evenings looking out her apartment window with binoculars into the windows of her neighbors across the street. One night, she watches as an older gentleman appears to give his bedridden wife a lethal injection. She reports it to the police, but they back off when they learn that the gentleman, Carmago (Raul Cortez), is a respected member of the judiciary. Alcides (Luiz Carlos Persy), Regina's police contact, gets so much political flack that he kicks Regina out of the program. But Regina takes it upon herself to continue the investigation on her own. Carmago notices that he's been seeing her around a lot, and, thinking it's a coincidence, asks Regina out on a date. She accepts for the sake of her "investigation," but before long the two find that they are really hitting it off. The Other Side of the Street was co-written and directed by Marcos Bernstein, who co-wrote the script for Central Station, the film that earned Montenegro an Academy Award nomination. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

This Brazilian film is the only entry from Latin America to take part the "Century of Cinema" celebration that is sponsored by the British Film Institute and is designed to allow prominent filmmakers to chronicle their country's cinematic history. Filmmaker Nelson Pereira dos Santos has devised a melodramatic tale to explore the film genre of melodrama. The framing story follows a prominent Brazilian director as he tries to deal with a recurring dream about his late mother who died when he was young. Believing that she killed herself after seeing a Mexican melodrama, he goes to Mexico City to see if he can discover the title of this film. He is accompanied by his student assistant Yves. There, they begin watching films, and as they watch, Yves offers his comments about the genre's significance in Latin America. The director then makes a pass at Yves, but the young man mysteriously vanishes. He returns to Brazil with neither his assistant, nor the film he desires. Later, the director receives a letter from Yves and a copy of the Argentine film Armino Negro which may be the film he wants. But though it is a true tearjerker, it was released long after his mother died. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Brazilian teenager Vera (Ana Beatriz Nogueria) is released from the orphanage where she has spent most of her life. Her brutal experiences while a ward of the State have caused her to adopt masculine dress and mannerisms--a successful effort to wield power over her fellow orphans. On the outside, Vera finds shelter and a job through the auspices of a benevolent professor (Raul Cortez). While still in male garb, Vera develops a chaste relationship with a female coworker (Aida Leiner). Unable to consummate the relationship, Vera undergoes a great deal of inner torment, at one point considering a sex change. The end of this provocative but non-sensational film finds Vera coming to grips with her femininity, even though her future happiness is still up in the air. 18-year-old Ana Beatriz Nogueria won a Berlin Film Festival best actress award for her astonishingly mature performance in Vera. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two friends give up their dreams of becoming priests and eventually marry to hopefully lead fulfilling lives with their respective spouses. One man wishes to become a father and is initially delighted. Suspicions grow that he is not the father of the child, as he suspects his old friend and his own wife of infidelity. His suspicions soon become obsessions, but he keeps his feelings inside. When his friend drowns, his wife grieves at the man's casket. The surviving friend gives his son poison and takes some himself as he finally reveals his fears to his already sad wife. His wife denies the allegations, but she is left alone and the truth is known only to her in this tragic story of jealousy and possessive obsession. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide