Rubem Fonseca Movies
- 2006
In Mexican director Paul Leduc's crime drama El Cobrador: In God We Trust, Peter Fonda plays an unnamed sociopathic millionaire who lives in Miami and gets a charge out of running down female pedestrians in his oversized SUV. Meanwhile, El Cobrador, a Brazilian mineworker, travels to the Big Apple and kills everyone he can find. The Fonda character then heads down to Mexico, where he partners up with Argentinean photographer Ana (Antonella Costa), and the two embark on a bloody crime spree à la Bonnie and Clyde. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
A cinematic study of the bleak realities of modern day Brazil, O Homen do Ano (aka Man of the Year) follows the brooding Máiquel (Murilo Benicio) as he discovers that the smallest changes in life can make the biggest differences. Jobless and insecure to the point where he can't even face himself in the mirror, a terrified Máiquel enters a salon to have his hair died platinum blond after losing a soccer bet to a friend. His new look supplying an unexpected jolt of confidence, Máiquel asks Cledir (Claudia Abreu), the salon employee who died his hair, to join him at the bar in celebration. Taunted by local bully Suel upon arrival at the bar, Máiquel decides to settle the matter by purchasing a rifle and shooting down the loudmouthed Suel in the presence of Suel's young girlfriend (Natalia Lage). Unexpectedly hailed as a hero by his neighbors and the police, Suel's girlfriend subsequently approaches Máiquel and claims that since he killed Suel, it is now Miquel's responsibility to care for her. Simultaneously learning that Cledir is pregnant and anticipating a marriage proposal, Miquel's newfound reputation soon catches up to him as the dubious requests of influential locals begin to take their toll on him. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Murilo Benicio, Cláudia Abreu, (more)
- 2002
A writer turned insurance investigator follows an ominous trail in this thriller from Brazilian director Flavoria R. Tambellini. Ivan Canabrava's (Jose Mayer) specialty as an insurance investigator is cases in which the perpetrators have used Bufo Marinus to commit fraud. A poison secreted by frogs that induces catalepsy in humans, the chemical's uncanny ability to bring about death-like symptoms allows the user to collect large life insurance policies and commit numerous other crimes. Subsequently giving up his career and focusing on writing, a decade later Canabrava discovers what appears to be a resurgence of the once popular drug and subsequently embarks on an investigation that may place his life in grave danger. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jose Mayer, Tony Ramos, (more)
- 1991
- R
A normally gentle photojournalist becomes a raging vigilante down in Rio following the death of the gentle prostitute he had befriended. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Peter Coyote, Tchéky Karyo, (more)
- 1971
This Brazilian romantic drama is told in two episodes, each based on a separate story by Rubem Fonseca. In the first episode, Lucia, a young girl, is wild about contemporary music and poetry books. The music she loves best is from The Beatles, which is why she calls herself McCartney. Her need for ever more records and books proves beyond her means, and she decides to earn what she needs in a brothel. In the second episode, a young man wants to try to pay what it will take to release a young woman from her job in a bordello. The girl, of course, is Lucia. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
