Elena Soarez Movies
- 2009
A woman struggles to make sense of life through her art in this bold independent drama from filmmaker Murilo Salles. Camila (Leandra Leal) is in her mid-twenties and her life has been thrown into chaos ever since her boyfriend threw her out of their apartment during a bitter argument. Camila's ambition is to become a writer, and she posts regularly on her blog, entitled "Camila Jam." However, Camila wants to take her work into a different direction, and she throws herself head first into life in search of inspiration. As Camila struggles with alcohol, unsettled emotions and relationships with abusive men, it becomes increasingly obvious that her skills as a writer aren't all she needs to sort out if she wants to truly understand her life and her career. Nome Proprio (aka Camila Jam) received its North American premiere at the 2009 Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose, California. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2008
Brazilian filmmaker Walter Lima Jr. looks back on the turmoil of the 1960's as well as the glories of the bossa nova boom in this musical period drama. Dico (Selton Mello) is a filmmaker who obsessively chronicles the career of his close friends in the group Os Desafinados, a bossa nova band who are on the verge of popular success at home and are earning a following among jazz fans abroad. Os Desafinados are the brainchild of composers Joaquim (Rodrigo Santoro) and Davi (Angelo Paes Leme), who with the help of their rhythm section Paolo Cesar (Andre Moraes) and Geraldo (Jair de Oliveira) are taking dance music into fresh and exiting directions. Their sound impresses Leon (David Herman), an American record producer who offers to bring the group to the United States and help them reach a new and wider audience. Joaquim and Davi eagerly accept the offer, and are jetted to New York City where they play a riotously well-received gig at jazz mecca the Village Vanguard. However, they soon discover Leon is more interested on how he can profit from the success of Os Desafinados than in the welfare of the group, and when Joaquim and Davi meet Gloria (Claudia Abreu), a gifted Brazilian vocalist who has relocated to Manhattan, the two become rivals for her romantic and musical attentions, an especially problematic situation for Joaquim since he's already married to Luiza (Alessandra Negrini). The band's career troubles and internal squabbles suddenly seem trivial, however, when Os Desafinados learn that Brazil's political future is up in the air following a violent military coup. Os Desafinados (aka Out Of Tune) received its North American premiere at the 2008 Guadalajara Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rodrigo Santoro, Cláudia Abreu, (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)
Three generations of women struggle to make lives for themselves and their families in the desert wastes of Northern Brazil in a drama from filmmaker Andrucha Waddington. In 1910, Vasco de Sá (Ruy Guerra) leads his wife, Áurea (Fernanda Torres), and her mother, Dona Maria (Fernanda Montenegro), to their new home -- a ramshackle cabin in Maranhão, a tiny village in the middle of a barren sand dune. Vasco and Áurea's new neighbors are hardly welcoming of the new arrivals, especially Massu (Seu Jorge), and when Vasco unexpectedly dies, Áurea and Dona Maria are left to fend for themselves, an especially vexing challenge as Áurea is with child. Nine years later, Áurea and Dona Maria have turned their cottage into a home, but life in Maranhão remains a constant uphill battle, and Áurea dreams of moving away with her daughter, Maria (Camilla Facundes). Áurea becomes infatuated with Luiz (Enrique Diaz), who works with a group of astronomers who have come to Maranhão to observe an eclipse, but their romance comes to a crashing halt when Dona Maria is killed. By 1942, Maria (now played by Fernanda Torres) is a promiscuous alcoholic who brings shame to Áurea (now played by Fernanda Montenegro). After the body of an Air Force pilot is found near Maranhão, a military officer is sent to investigate -- Luiz (now played by Stenio Garcia). When Luiz meets Maria, he sees the image of the woman he longed for years before, and while she doesn't have the same feelings for him, Maria realizes that Luiz represents her best hope of finally escaping the village she's come to hate. The House of Sand received its North American premiere at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2000
- PG13
- Add Me, You, Them to Queue
The legendary Brazilian songsmith Gilberto Gil supplies the score for this reality-based comedy, in which an independent-minded woman decides that if one live-in husband doesn't fulfill her needs, she can always add more. The film begins when Darlene (Regina Case) returns to her small, dusty hometown in northern Brazil to receive her mother's blessing for her for young son Dimas. When she arrives, she finds that her mother has died; her funeral occurs the day Darlene arrives. Despondent over her new predicament, she accepts an extemporaneous marriage proposal from her neighbor Osias (Lima Duarte) and moves in with him. It becomes clear to Darlene, however, that Osias wants little more than a live-in maid. Darlene becomes pregnant and bears a child -- who bears no resemblance to the light-skinned Osias. When Osias' cousin Zezinho (Stenio Garcia) comes to town and takes an immediate liking to Darlene, she doesn't turn him away -- before long, she's bearing his son as well. As the eager-to-please Zezinho takes over her housekeeping duties, Darlene decides that the one thing she's lacking in her life is true passion, and fills that void with a sugar cane worker named Ciro (Luis Vasconcelos), who moves in as well. Eu Tu Eles was purportedly inspired by a Brazilian news story about a woman in a similar alternative-living situation; the film screened at the 2000 Cannes, Tokyo, and Toronto Film Festivals before making its stateside premiere. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Regina Case, Lima Duarte, (more)
