Popular reviews

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  Review by Neto Cazeca ★★★★½ 8

  How to put Tarantino na sola da bota in a pernambucano's way!

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  Review by pelossii ★★★★★ 15

  This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

  BRAZILIAN CINEMA PORRAAAAAAA

  edit depois de ver pela segunda vez:
  - Glauber Rocha sorriria depois de ver Bacurau
  - talvez a antropofagia que mais se aproxime do literal desde que foi proposta por Oswald
  - novamente Kleber Mendonça Filho escolhe a trilha sonora a dedo: Gal Costa começa o filme anunciando o tropicalismo; John Carpenter surge quando o terror vira o tema do filme e deixa claras as influências dos diretores; Geraldo Vandre dá o tom da resistência na última parte da película.
  - museus e escolas são lugares de proteção e resistência para as pessoas, para o povo.
  - a tradição, o popular, expressos por Carmelita, pelo violeiro, pela capoeira, pelo psicotrópico devem ser mantidos vivos e são armas…

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  Review by davidehrlich ★★★★ 18

  In some respects, Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “Bacurau” can be seen as a logical continuation of the Brazilian critic-turned-auteur’s two previous features. Much like 2012’s revelatory “Neighboring Sounds,” for example, “Bacurau” is a patient and sprawling portrait of a Brazilian community as it struggles to defend itself against the dark specter of modernity. And much like 2016’s unshakeable “Aquarius,” “Bacurau” hinges on an immovably stubborn woman who refuses to relinquish her place in the world — who won’t allow our blind lust for the future to bury her meaningful ties to the past.

  In some respects, however, “Bacurau” marks something of a departure for its director (who shares his credit here with Juliano Dornelles). Whereas “Neighboring Sounds” relies on acoustics to…

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  Review by kársten ★★★★ 38

  Truly one of the craziest emotional rollercoasters I’ve been on. I’ve already said too much, going in blind was the best idea. Udo Kier and Silvero Pereira have the best eyes.

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  Review by josh lewis ★★★★ 7

  This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

  the museum reveal in this (and subsequent bloodletting) is an easy contender for sequence of the year imo. when you choose a poor, marginalized community as the target of your gleeful genocidal violence because of their precarious conditions without realizing that those conditions are exactly why a resilient and necessary culture/history of armed resistance might exist. 😩 a john carpenter spaghetti western is something i didn't realize i've always wanted. big fan of the naked dude in the hut that was just vibing with his plants and then turned the american’s face into a smashed kinder egg.

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  Review by josh lewis ★★★★ 6

  a completely bonkers movie that begins as a brazilian social drama, observing the townspeople's cultural rituals and impoverished conditions at the hand of a corrupt mayor with an almost western-inflected sense of community, beautiful desert and mountain vistas interrupted by small character interactions and location detail that carry a sense of local history as well as their procedures for everyday resistance. but then a shift occurs. there are a few off-kilter tonal and formal details that signal it, a split diopter here, a wild zoom there, but the shift is sudden nonetheless (if you don't want to know more i would suggest not reading further) and by the end this has somehow transitioned into a full-blown spaghetti western splatter comedy…

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  Review by demi adejuyigbe ★★★★ 5

  NZIFF FILM #8
  ME WALKING OUT OF THE THEATRE AFTER ‘BACURAU’: hm. well that was certainly overhyped. kind of feels fairly across the plate? maybe i’m missing something. it was fine
  ME AS I’M TRYING TO EXPLAIN THE STORY OF ‘BACARAU’ OUT LOUD: [slowly giggling more and more] lmao fuck that movie actually went so hard

  
  additional note: Thomas Aquino is the Brazilian Will Smith and I need this to be acknowledged by the future of his career.

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  Review by Chico Fireman ★★★★ 6

  "Vocês vieram conhecer o museu de Bacurau?", pergunta a dona do bar ao casal de forasteiros que respondem que não. "Este museu é muito bom", ela devolve. E é mesmo. Bom e esclarecedor. Aquela pequena casa, recheada de objetos, recortes e fotos, guarda não apenas o segredo da trama de "Bacurau", o filme, mas um aspecto essencial ao espírito do povo que vive na comunidade que o batiza (fictícia, mas muito próxima do real). Aqui, por mais que a embalagem seja o cinema de gênero, a base é bastante autêntica: a identidade do nordestino, o nordestino do interior, das pequenas cidades e povoados. E tudo no filme é de verdade: as estradas, o verde, as pessoas, as crianças, o sotaque,…

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  Review by Lucy ★★★★ 9

  the less you know the better. i feel like i've already said too much even by saying nothing at all

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  Review by Arthur Tuoto ★★½ 27

  “Bacurau” possui uma premissa tão direta ao ponto que nem dá pra dizer que existe um alegoria política. O que, em teoria, eu acho ótimo. Me parece que a ideia central é mesmo essa catarse gráfica que funciona da maneira mais direta possível como purgação de um momento político trágico.

  Sem dúvida a abordagem franca com a violência funciona muito bem. Os momentos das mortes são os mais bem decupados e os que melhor constroem uma tensão com a cena. Algo que se baseia muito em uma ótima percepção espacial do Kleber. Uma elaboração entre personagens e o espaço em que eles se encontram que o diretor explora em praticamente todos os filmes que faz. A maneira como, no final,…

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  Review by Matt Singer ★★★★ 4

  Seven Samurai if there were no samurai, a bunch of hallucinogens, a little Spandau Ballet, and the villagers had to protect themselves (sometimes while fully nude) from Udo Kier and a bunch of obnoxious Americans. I dig it.

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  Review by SilentDawn ★★★★ 7

  74

  A stern communal drama of social-tension gradually morphs into a nasty grind-house experience. What happens when forgotten people, amidst a lost culture, turn the tide against their oppressors? Wasn't so surprised by Udo Kier being insane as I was by the overwhelming Carpenter flavoring - from his own synth-tracks as a needle-drop to the stance of being represented, of fighting against a threat of dehumanization. The homage is legitimate and productive - never does it feel like something akin to VFW. The specificity of the world-building is what creates such a memorable outcome for every character, and ultimately is what makes the slow-burn switch-up towards the end such a gleeful, heart-pounding catharsis. Its climax isn't rushed, and it cares about the path to the bloodshed. At the core of the genre root is a decency towards people, and the rebellion against the loss of a world not known.