Los niños del Brasil

The title may seem a little odd at first, you may stumble upon it expecting to see muscled guys from Sao Paulo in swimming trunks...

I jest of course, this is an excellent film, it starts off what you'd expect from a Nazi hunger film, but as it develops it gets darker and darker, the story becomes apparent after a while, you're able to put the jigsaw pieces together, and see the whole picture.

It's well paced, dramatic, and packed with action, some of it is actually pretty violent, the conclusion even now is really rather shocking.

Peck and Olivier shine through, Peck in particular the acting is outstanding, I couldn't believe just how many famous faces kept on popping up, Prunella Scales, Michael Gough, all small parts, but clearly wanted to be a part of it.

No wonder it was nominated for three Oscars. 9/10.

This is such a classic piece of mystery drama, it's inconceivable that it's not better known. A late seventies film starring the cream of cinema from 20 years earlier, this follows a Nazi plot (in the present day) and the efforts of a Nazi hunter to put the pieces together. The elements include a number of apparently unrelated children, a decades-old plot, a series of murders, Josef Mengele, and a short appearance by one `Steven' Guttenberg, in an early film role. When you finally realise what has been going on, it ups the stakes dramatically. Well worth seeking out.

Mixing real names and real past with unreal present and unreal future can be intriguing and fresh, but can easily become a "porridge" of this and that with ambivalent elements - if not deliberately mocked or twisted as e.g. Quentin Tarantino does. Franklin J. Schaffner, however, has chosen to create a warning movie with "modest" sci-fi tinting, and combination of painful past with scientific opportunities is often odd, at times even doltish. The almost 2-hour-length contained some protracted and unnecessary scenes as well.

Luckily, there are at least good actors even in supporting roles, and Gregory Peck as Dr. Josef Mengele and Laurence Olivier as Ezra Lieberman are pleasant to follow both together and separately. Besides, different venues, both nature and dwellings, provide the movie additional value and opportunity to compare different attitudes and lifestyles.

Thus, a decent creation, but hardly for those willing to keep real historical persons and their imaginary deeds separate.

THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL opens in scenic and remote Paraguay where Barry Kohler (a young Steve Guttenburg) is on the trail of a mysterious gathering of former Third Reich heavy hitters, including Eduard Seibert (James Mason), now in exile. As his information becomes more detailed, he contacts Ezra Lieberman (Laurence Olivier), a renowned Nazi hunter. In the meantime Dr. Josef Mengele (Gregory Peck) makes the scene and after Kohler's bugging of a secret meeting goes wrong, Lieberman is left with only a thread of a much deeper story, which he sets about to unravel...

Even though the plot is fairly well known by now, I will assume some people are not familiar with Ira Levin's book or the film. In fact the less you know about the plot the better; I think that the dust jacket gives far too much of the story away...Anyway, THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL is a film that toes a very dangerous line, I mean few film makers want to turn a man like Menegele into a camp figure. But the cast and crew handles the material with deft intelligence. The cast is fantastic: Peck, as Mengele, delivers a strong performance that never falters. In the tired yet determined Lieberman, Laurence Olivier creates a wonderful character; a late highlight of a distinguished career. James Mason, as Seibert and Bruno Ganz as a mouthpiece for outdated genetic research, do well to support the action, but are given little to do. It is Peck and Olivier that propel the film along; the violent showdown between the two men is a must see.

Jerry Goldsmith supports the on screen action with a Straussian waltz to tie in the Austrian backdrop. Goldsmith also provide some terse action music for the third act of the film. This is one of the last films that Goldsmith and director Franklin J. Schaffner would collaborate on. On that note, it would seem to me high time for a more detailed retrospective of Schaffner's body of work; which includes THE WARLORD, PATTON, ISLANDS IN THE STREAM, PLANET OF THE APES, PAPILLION, LIONHEART. It is Schaffner's sensibilities that keep THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL from jumping the track. He uses steady camera work and smooth style to create a world the characters can inhabit (something "over" directors of today know little about). Schaffner's style is more subtle, workman like, which may explain why he is not better known among the general populace. He keeps THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL grounded and allows his actors to flesh the characters out, which makes all the difference in the world. 8/10.

I had read "The Boys From Brazil" years before I ever saw the movie. When I did see the film, I was amazed how closely it actually tracked the brilliantly-written novel.

This is an excellent thriller. The Nazi's plot is unraveled slowly, first filling you with confusion, then disbelief, and finally, astonishment & terror. As far-fetched as the Nazi's scheme sounds at first, it really is close enough to medical reality for a taste of true horror.

Gregory Peck is disturbingly realistic as the Nazi doctor Mengele, who masterminds the entire fiendish plot. His character in the film is so real and sinister as to be completely believable. In fact, the entire cast does such a great job that the movie's plot strikes even closer to home.

If you like well-written, well acted suspense/thrillers, this is one of the very best. I highly recommend it.