Fernando Meirelles Movies
For a director who claims to "hate violent movies," Fernando Meirelles certainly has an eye for beauty in brutality. His highly praised film City of God (2002), adapted from author Paulo Lins' harsh Brazilian slice-of-life novel, proved so effective that it was nominated for four Oscars including Best Directing and Best Adapted Screenplay. A São Paulo native, Meirelles first dabbled in film by shooting experimental shorts with a small group of friends; the filmmaking team eventually formed the small independent production company Olhar Electronico. Early work in independent film production eventually found the future director gravitating toward independent television, and after working in the field for about nine years, Meirelles found work in publicity and commercials.Though Meirelles would court success early on as the director of a popular Brazilian children's television show, his desire to move into feature territory was further fueled when a friend handed him a copy of Lins' sprawling street epic. Noting that the book virtually begged to be adapted for the screen, despite an intimidating story that involved over 350 characters, Meirelles set forth on the daunting task. Though the director had no personal experience in such a crime-ridden setting, Lins' vivid, authentically written words rang especially true due to his childhood in the fearsome Rio de Janeiro neighborhood. It didn't take long for Meirelles to realize that he didn't have the necessary feature experience to tackle such a massive project, so, in order to prepare himself, the director took the helm for the decidedly smaller-scale drama Maids. An episodic feature dealing with five maids who dwell in São Paulo, Maids earned six nominations for the Cinema Brazil Grand Prize and found Meirelles much more comfortable with the large task that lay ahead.
Soon finishing the screenplay for City of God and eventually receiving the blessing of the author, Meirelles gathered a large cast of inexperienced actors and a handful of seasoned thespians and set forth on the large production. Set in the impoverished slum of Cidade de Deus, the film followed two young teens whose paths in life diverge at an early age. As the boys come of age and become ever more influenced and affected by their crime-ridden surroundings, every choice they make seems to have a butterfly effect in the Cidade de Deus. An undeniably powerful film that gained international exposure and acclaim, City of God was honored not only with four Academy Award nominations, but also swept the Cinema Brazil Grand Prize awards and the Havana Film Festival awards. Meirelles went on to tackle issues of globalism in The Constant Gardener (2005), adapted from a John Le Carré novel and starring Ralph Fiennes. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2008
Their lives forever changed after the car crash that no amount of preparedness could have prevented, two men living in Sao Paulo, Brazil discover that they are at the mercy of a city that never forgives. In the flash of an instant, Enios and Pedro find their lives turned upside down. Now, as they attempt to contend with their profound senses of loss and loneliness, Enios' orphaned daughter returns to her father and Pedro attempts to summon the courage that will finally allow him to let love go. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rodrigo Santoro, Leonardo Medeiros, (more)
Fernando Meirelles' adaptation of Nobel Prize-winning author José Saramago's novel Blindness begins when an epidemic of blindness strikes the world. Mark Ruffalo stars as an eye doctor who awakens one morning to find that he suffers from the unexplained disorder. He, along with other victims, is sent to a government detention center so that they can be quarantined. His wife (Julianne Moore) pretends to be blind so that she can be with him inside the institution. Their time in the center grows more and more desperate as food and supplies dwindle, and one of the other citizens (Gael García Bernal) exercises dictatorial control over the others after he acquires a weapon. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, (more)
- 2007
- PG
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A 12-year-old Brazilian boy who longs to see his team win out over Italy in the 1970 World Cup match finds his entire world turned upside down as his left-wing parents are forced into hiding and he is sent to live with his grandfather in São Paulo's Bom Retiro district. Though his country is being held in the grip of a military dictatorship and the war in Vietnam is raging abroad, young Mauro can't seem to think about anything else but the upcoming World Cup match between Brazil and Italy. If Jairzinho, Pelé, and company can just win their third World Cup title, team Brazil will earn their third star on the strip -- a feat that no other team in the history of the sport has ever managed to accomplish. When his Catholic mother and Jewish father are suddenly forced to go "on holiday," young Mauro is swept out of his middle-class existence in Minas Gerais and taken to stay with his paternal grandfather in bustling Bom Retiro. A multi-ethnic district in which Jews, Arabs, and Greeks all live side by side, Bom Retiro begins to heat up with World Cup fever as things both at home and abroad all seem to be spiraling toward disaster. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Joelsas, Germano Haiut, (more)
Two lifelong friends raised amidst the turmoil of Rio de Janeiro's notorious Pool Hall Hill attempt to navigate the treacherous maze of adulthood after celebrating their 18th birthdays and becoming caught up in the city's endless cycle of violence in director Paulo Morelli's companion piece to the Golden Globe-winning drama City of God. Laranjinha (Darlan Cunha) and Acerola (Douglas Silva) may not be bound by blood, but these childhood friends are closer to one another than most brothers. While their friendship has gone a long way in helping them both to cope with the strife that surrounds them, the hard truth is that they will both have to fend for themselves now that they've entered into adulthood. For Laranjinha, entering this stage in life means finding his long-lost father; for Acerola it means finally taking responsibility for his growing family. Now, as Laranjinha's cousin, quick-tempered local drug lord Madrugadão (Jonathan Haagensen), finds his power threatened by his former right-hand man Nefasto (Eduardo BR Piranha), it quickly becomes apparent that a formidable war is brewing in the poverty-stricken shantytown. The brother of Laranjinha's girlfriend, Camila (Naima Silva), looks to be a key component in this battle, threatening to draw a neutral man into a deadly confrontation. Meanwhile, Acerola's wife, Cris (Camila Monteiro), is threatening to move to São Paolo so that her family won't be consumed by the violence that has torn apart so many families before. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Douglas Silva, Darlan Cunha, (more)
Uruguayan directors César Chalone and Enrique Fernández co-helm the nutty Spanish-language farce El Baño del Papa (The Pope's Toilet). The film unfolds in 1988, during Pope John Paul II's visit to Uruguay. While dozens of economically struggling locals devise plans to turn a buck from the arrival of the papal father -- such as baking cakes and wrapping chorizo sausages -- only one concocts a scheme to earn a fortune from defecation. Beto, a nickel-and-dime smuggler, reasons that all of those cakes and sausages will be digested rather quickly and that over 50,000 locals will soon be clamoring to use the porcelain bowl. Of course, toilets abound in South America, but Beto sets his public toilet apart by crowning it with an aura of prestige -- his will be the only Pope's Toilet in all of Uruguay, and residents, he is certain, will soon be clamoring to use it. Unfortunately, before he can set his scheme in motion, Beto must first locate the most appropriate toilet and make several risky trips across the Brazilian border and back to that end. Then, just as Beto is within arm's reach of success, someone thoughtlessly steals his beloved bicycle -- further hampering his mission. Regardless of the complications at hand, however, Beto's determination persists. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cesar Troncoso, Virginia Méndez, (more)
Director Tata Amaral offers a poetic look at such difficult issues of violence, racism, and sexism in contemporary Brazil with this vibrant and uplifting tale of fourfemale rappers straining to make a name for themselves while performing on the outskirts of São Paolo. Preta (Negra Li), Mayah (Quelynah), Barbarah (Leilah Moreno) and Lena (Cindy) currently provide back-up vocals for a popular rap act named O Poder, yet despite their success with the group, the talented female singers know well that they have what it takes to strike out on their own. Eventually afforded the opportunity to perform as a group during an O Poder show in Brasilandia, the foursome debut to thrilling success and soon catch the attention of promoter Marcelo Diamante (Thaíde) - who casually offers to shepherd the girls' emerging career. Things soon get complicated, however, when jealousy prompts Preta to convince Barbarah and Lena to oust Maya from the band, and after Barbara is subsequently imprisoned for the accidental murder of a young boy who roughed up her brother, the once-promising foursome suddenly becomes a duo. But fate isn't finished with the ladies yet, because as the wave of their success begins to crest, Preta is soon forced to take the stage as a solo artist when Lena becomes pregnant and is forced by her demanding husband to choose between her family and her career. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
A man discovers a deadly secret when he tries to find out who killed the woman he loves in this suspense drama based on a novel by John Le Carré. Justin Quale (Ralph Fiennes) is a low-level British diplomat who has been given a new assignment in Kenya. Justin's wife, Tessa (Rachel Weisz), is an activist with a keen interest in issues of poverty and social justice; Justin urges her to avoid getting too deeply involved in the people living in Kenya, who are constantly dogged by poverty, but she shows little interest in obeying these instructions. This isn't the only area where Tessa has disregarded her husband, who suspects that she may have had an affair - for she started spending time with a handsome doctor once they settled in Kenya. One day, Tessa disappears, and is found brutally murdered; officials believe that she was murdered by the doctor after some sort of argument. However, before long Justin becomes convinced that there was a larger scheme that led to Tessa's death, and he begins digging into areas where he's not especially welcome, given his reputation as a man willing to let the wealthy and powerful do as they will. The Constant Gardener was the first English-speaking feature from Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Meirelles, who directed the international success City of God. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, (more)
Fernando Meirelles' City of God is a sweeping tale of how crime affects the poor population of Rio de Janeiro. Though the narrative skips around in time, the main focus is on Cabeleira who formed a gang called the Tender Trio. He and his best friend, Bené (Phelipe Haagensen), become crime lords over the course of a decade. When Bené is killed before he can retire, Lil' Zé attempts to take out his arch enemy, Sandro Cenoura (Matheus Nachtergaele). But Sandro and a young gangster named Mane form an alliance and begin a gang war with Lil' Zé. Amateur photographer Buscape (Alexandre Rodrigues) takes pictures of the brutal crime war, making their story famous. City of God was screened at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino da Hora, (more)
The filmmaking team that stunned viewers with City of God returns with this series about two teenage boys coming of age in the dangerous slums of Rio de Janeiro. Laranjinha (Darlan Cunha) and Acerola (Douglas Silva) are two 13-year-old boys who have made their home in a small shantytown in the mountains of Rio. Though life can be hard in such a volatile environment, their spirits are strong and serve well to help the pair endure even when it seems that all hope is lost. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2001
Six domestic workers share their thoughts about their employers and their experiences on the job in this satiric comedy. While we never see the people they work for, we're given a look at the absurdities and indignities of their daily routines, as well as a look into their lives outside work. One signs up for a modeling course only to discover she's being recruited for an escort service, while another finds herself having an affair with the chauffeur working for the same family, and a third falls for a good-looking criminal. Directed by Fernando Meirelles and Nando Olival, Domesticas was shown in competition at the 2001 Rotterdam Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
