"BR716" (aka "Barata Ribeiro, 716") chronicles the joys and sorrows of an aspiring young writer (Caio Blat) in the tumultuous days prior
to the military coup of 1964. He lives an almost idyllic lifestyle of parties and drinks in his inherited apartment, inviting countless young people
and alienated friends who drink their lives away and whose only worries relate to loving relationships. Little by little they'll start to realize
that their promising future of hopes and dreams might take a dramatic u-turn and they'll need to decide in which side of the conflict they'll be,
as they're art students, intellectuals, journalists and bohemians, desperatly in need to get out of their fun parties and see a world collapsing
outside of that apartment.
Domingos de Oliveira tries hard to be like
those nostalgic views of friendship and loving relationships most films try to look back at the past with a certain romantic/idealistic sense. Sometimes he gets it right (the lack of period recreation, using the mininum possible to look like the 1960's and you actually feel there); other times the appeal is simply
not there as we follow characters who don't want anything concrete from life, somehow
they exist without the convention of money neither getting a paid job (and they're always broke), yet they survive without dire consequences. The ideal
life for many, but there's such a real background - especially for someone like Oliveira who started his cinematic career back then - that one wonders
and worries about those particular issues related to that middle class society. It's kind of a pitiful portrayal but the characters are so strangely
likeable that we don't stick much to this issue.
It's mostly a comedy with some dramatic touches, and those touches were what kept the film interesting and worth seeing. Outside of Blat and his
character drunkly rambling to friends about the failure of his marriage, or his fights with friends, and then he falls in love with a beautiful girl, the film gives us some small
down to earth talks that deconstructs the dreamy life into a sad reality that keeps knocking at the door, represented through the writer's father
(Daniel Dantas), who pays a visit to convince his son to get a job; or the visits of a friend from São Paulo (played by Sergio Guizé), a loud figure who
manages to quiet everybody down when he brings the news about the student movement and the potential coup formed by the military in order to dethrown
president Jango from office.
However, the happy haze of drunken days are mildly funny because of the situations, not necessarily the dialogue as the jobless writer keeps indulging
himself with existential thoughts and fights - but the sequence where he reads his script to his mates is hilarious. And overall, it's hard to understand
if there was a point to everything as it overlooks the real meaning of friendship, what's gained and what's lost when there's only smiles and drinks all
around (and they're missing out a lot from life). Possibly Oliveira was recreating a scenario he actually lived, but truth be told it didn't result in an
urgent idea to be seen or experienced. It's okay but one could make this particular story bigger and with more noble intentions, instead of free spirited
experiment that looks like improvisational theatre - with richer dialogues it would make an amazing play. The cast is fine and does not disappoint. 6/10.
