Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)

This film will teach you a lot that you didn't know about Brazilian society and that nation's struggles with deep undercurrents of poverty, corruption, extortion and social confrontation. It fails to fully connect the dots in terms of why and how these problems manifest, but it definitely exposes a good deal of truth in terms of day-to-day realities for some of Brasil's wealthy and poor citizens. It's an aesthetically-driven documentary, with visual meditations on frogs, ears, cityscapes and the expressions of interview subjects and their sometimes equally intriguing interpreters. The soundtrack is an alluring collection of Brazilian pop and traditional arrangements that hums away in the background, as we watch some rather interesting folks talk about how they fit into the skewed morass of Brazilian society, whether perpetrator, victim, agent of the law or medical healer. Be warned: some of the raw kidnapping footage is graphic and disturbing.

This film is a documentary only insofar as the characters are people playing themselves. Director Jason Kohn has no interest in exploring or understanding the issues the film purports to examine, rather pandering to the audience by prodding his subjects to tell their most shocking stories and judging them immediately after.

The corruption and violence are presented in a near total vacuum of context, adding to the cynical view towards the subjects involved. The absurdity of truth is pushed to its limit for the purpose of entertainment, effectively stripping away all meaning from the truly deplorable situation in Brazil. The reaction Mr. Kohn is after, and is quite talented at achieving, is a "Wow, that's f****d up!". Nothing more. There's something to be said of a documentarian whose sole purpose is to "Entertain people". There really isn't much more at play in this "documentary." It will be interesting to see what tabloid material Kohn tackles next.

Poor and superficial film, using disturbing images, playing with the American believe that Violence and Corruption only happen in other countries. This is a bad copy of other Brazilian movies, this people could be making Art with more social engagement , sensibility and respect for other cultures.

The worst part of the movie is when Kids are showed acting/playing as kidnappers. The director admitted that He asked the Kids to do the theater, but presents it as if it was reality, making the public believe that this is how kids play in the streets of Brazil. This is unetical, not a documentary, shouldn't be a reference.

I believe that it's time for the young Americans to start looking into solving their own problems at home. And not only look for sensationalism , violence and misery but, beauty and successful experiences in other cultures, not only they problems, feeding prejudices and fear.

It's time to exchange ideas , using art as communication, a Global believe of trust and enlightenment. Not only fear of the different, of the foreigner, the neighbor...

"Manda Bala" is everything you could want in a documentary, or in any film, for that matter! Directed in a style akin to the finer films of Errol Morris, "Manda Bala" is beautifully shot, brilliantly edited, and has a tremendous musical score. Shot in Brazil over several years, this documentary smartly examines the nature of corruption and class division in a truly engaging & entertaining way; the film is gripping from beginning to end, and has an immediacy that has world-wide relevance and resonance. The story is tightly woven, but the film still breathes in an almost perfect way, with just the right amount of tension & release. I am INCREDIBLY impressed by the amazing, dare I say artistic work that first-time director Jason Kohn has toiled to put together. Everyone-and-their-brothers-in-law-too should go see "Manda Bala", as soon as it's given wide-release, post-Sundance!

This is one of the finest documentaries I have ever seen.

It takes on a very difficult subject, violence and corruption in Brazil, and portrays its impact on the population through the lives of a dozen or so primary characters. The film interviews the ruthless kidnapper-murderer, exposes and interviews the corrupt politician, shows a kidnapping victim getting his ear cut off; yet it conveys this potentially depressing subject matter with stunning visual effects and an uplifting Brazilian music score that captures the great spirit of Brazil's people.

The film has footage of children playing in the slums of Sao Paolo, but they aren't playing soccer. They are instead recreating the growing crime of kidnapping and cutting off the victims body parts. An actual kidnapper tells the camera he doesn't think much about the kidnappings and murders he commits. He then explains as a proud father that he has nine children and his wife is about to have their tenth. He concludes saying, "maybe one of them will grow up to fix this country".

The film opens by saying it cannot be shown in Brazil. I hope this does not prove to be the case and that it can be shown not only in Brazil but throughout Latin America and around the globe. It should be mandatory viewing for everyone everywhere concerned with the escalating vicious cycle of poverty, neglect, violence, and corruption that plagues mankind.