/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/FILM-BRAZIL: The Harsh Reality of Savage Capitalism

By Mario Osava Reprint | | Print |

Mario Osava

RIO DE JANEIRO, Apr 23 2002 (IPS) - Honest entrepreneurs eliminated by their cutthroat partners, widespread corruption, and the triumph of hardcore criminals – no matter their social class – is the panorama of Brazilian society trapped in its lust for money, captured in a new film by Beto Brant.

“O Invasor” (The Invader) premiered in Brazil earlier this month, with several national and international film prizes to recommend it, and with the imprint of Brant, a standout in the new generation of Brazilian filmmakers.

Violence is a permanent presence in the film, as it was in Brant’s previous two works, “Os Matadores” (“The Killers”, or “Belly Up”, 1995) and “Açao Entre Amigos” (“Friendly Fire”, 1998), and serves to highlight the social and moral wounds tearing at this giant South American country.

In “O Invasor”, the story begins as two engineers, owners of a construction firm in Sao Paulo, hire Anisio, a paid assassin from the impoverished peripheral neighbourhoods, to get rid of their third partner, who refuses to accept a corrupt deal with the government.

Paulo Miklos, a rock singer in his acting debut, plays Anisio, who “invades” the company and the lives of the two engineering executives who ordered the crime after he assassinates the third partner and his wife.

Blackmail is one of the killer’s weapons. But another, which is decisive in his ascent, is the emotional link he forges with the adolescent daughter of the couple he recently murdered.

Drugs are a mechanism of integration between these two people of dramatically different social backgrounds, mirroring the reality of ties that develop between the impoverished drug suppliers and the rich users.

The more insecure of the two engineers realises that they have entered a dead-end, and after failing in his attempt to flee, decides to turn himself in to the police and reveals the crime.

However, he finds that the police are corrupt and also on they payroll of his partner, making his own denunciation and sacrifice futile.

There are no honest people in “O Invasor”, with the exception of the dead, nor any escape for a broken society, driven by “savage capitalism”, or seeking wealth through any means, especially crime.

The most interesting character in the film is the hired assassin. Thin, unattractive and native of the poorest neighbourhoods, he somehow awakens sympathy with his tragi-comic “invasion” of the world of the rich, his own punishment of the businessmen.

But audience sympathy quickly dissipates when it becomes evident that Anisio’s only intention is to become one of the rich himself and to adopt their customs.

The film ultimately lacks heroes with whom moviegoers can identify. It is disquieting and presents a gloomy reality, which is why it is limited in its box-office attraction.

The famous actors in the film, such as soap opera stars Malú Mader, Mariana Ximenes and Alexandre Borges, are not enough to make “O Invasor” a national hit.

The critics are divided in their assessments, though they recognise the film’s unique qualities. One aspect they agree on is the exceptional choice of rap music, a soundtrack that won an award at last year’s Brasilia Film Festival.

Rap underscores the action and the atmosphere of Sao Paulo’s impoverished suburbs, expressed in the music’s hard-hitting beat and indignant lyrics. One song states it in plain terms: “Hunger kills more than guns and drugs do.”

Rap composer Sabotage (Mauro Mateus dos Santos) served as a consultant in the film production, guiding the dialogue in the scenes involving the poor characters. He also appears in the most comedic scenes, portraying himself and singing one of his rap songs.

The contribution of the singer, “translating” the language of Anisio the killer into the typical slang of Sao Paulo’s poor neighbourhoods, was recognised as one of the main successes of “O Invasor”.

Sabotage will repeat that effort in another film currently being shot, “Estaçao Carandiru” (Carandiru Station), about the real-life massacre of 111 prisoners in a Sao Paulo jail 10 years ago.

The city of Sao Paulo is fundamental as a backdrop in “O Invasor”, with prolonged panoramic scenes showing the prosperity represented by many buildings in construction in contrast to the city’s ‘favelas’ (overcrowded slums) and extended poor neighbourhoods.

The photography of Brant’s latest work entailed some innovations, with initial shooting in 16 mm, allowing greater agility with lighter equipment. For the editing phase, digital technology was used, and for the final product it was converted to 35 mm film for distribution to the movie theatres.

With this approach, production costs were slashed, and the film’s total budget was a million Brazilian reals (435,000 dollars), considered low for a feature-length work.

The digital technology also permitted special effects, such as shaky street scenes to indicate one character’s drunken stupor, the variation of colours to accentuate climate or the sensations of desperation or of characters under the influence of drugs.