Chico Xavier is the latest flick following the Brazilian trend of biographical movies. Directed by the artistically inept soap-opera director Daniel Filho, Chico Xavier appears to be a film made exclusively to make big bucks out of an audience of religious viewers. And at this, it has been extremely successful. Instead of adopting a balanced approach to present the life of controversial spiritual figure Chico Xavier, the script and direction faithfully follow a biographical book that portrays the main character as a sort of martyr saint of spiritism. From the opening scene in a talk show in the 1970's it is quite clear that the spiritual powers and infinite benigness of Chico Xavier will overcome any difficulties and conquer even the most skeptic minds. The director resorts to a number of cheap devices to make the audience emotional and oblivious to the story's many flaws and inconsistencies. All the possible objections to the spiritual phenomena attributed to the so-called medium are quickly dismissed with some extraordinary event or an incredible display of generosity by Chico or his friends from the other side. That is exactly why the movie fails to elicit real drama and tension in anyone who appreciates a well-told human story. We can't really connect to someone who stoically endures great suffering and incomprehension without ever having a single burst of anger or revolt. Some scenes are almost comical in its zealousness to promote the sainthood of Chico, like the one in which his father takes him, as a young man, to a brothel. The cast includes many well-known Brazilian soap-opera actors who do not really make much of a difference to the overall sleepy mood of the entire work. Regardless of religious beliefs, it is impossible not to recognize the immense influence Chico Xavier has had on the Brazilian people. That is exactly why his story deserved better than this half-cooked piece of commercial cinema.
