Juvenília

The only redeeming quality of Paulo Sacramento's short "Juvenília" comes from the presentation of a horrific scenario told in a very artistic manner through the use of film stills rather than showing moving images of gratuitous cruelty. Never a new thing as many other (better and brighter!) filmmakers had done experimental works with similar settings of telling a story through the use of stills, and the main movement followed by audiences come through sound use, sound effects and music.

But what's the aim in this thing? It shows a beautiful middle class neighborhood whose young habitants decide to attack a street dog for no apparent reason. They use a series of objects like a wood stick, a brick, pliers and what else to the point of the animal become unrecognisable.

The thing of which is hard to be certain is about the reality of it all, if there was an actual dog being attacked (the early moments don't show any blood on the pavement, but later on comes some disturbing graphic shots).

Nonetheless, was this a common trend among elitists who feel pleasure through the suffering of animals or poor people? Terribly sad but truth, but all around the world things like that happen. Was there a deep and wide examination of how violent acts can blossom from out of nowhere or deep down into apparently sane minds? Nope. This is mere style over substance (but the photos do tell a well developed story, with a powerful haunting effect that doesn't hit us with the cruelty of guts being exposed, but coming from another dog nearby.

That last still will remain a memory within me, as it was the only emotion that one could feel while watching this. 3/10.