O Homem do Ano

I'm not sure just where in the USA this Brazilian film has been released but I'm grateful that it came to my small city...

I saw "City of God" and was mesmerized by its raw power and its characters struggling with their sordid lives of hopelessness. But "The Man of the Year" I had to see twice. Everything about this film appealed to me. Murilo Benicio as Maiquel is nothing less than brilliant as a quiet middle class loser - vain, smug, angry, brooding, thoughtful, remorseful, duped, and with a special fondness for a baby pig that is handed him as a gift. Many twists and turns of fate cause his life to take on dimensions similar to a Greek tragedy. The two women in his life are equally well-cast, along with just about everyone in the entire film. Maiquel struggles with two jealous women, life-long friendships, and along with his new job as a hit-man, he has more than enough to keep him brooding, on edge, questioning his actions, his fate. I could sense his desperation in every scene. And always, you empathize with him.

What made this movie especially powerful for me was the way it was filmed. I read that it is the first movie of director Jose Enrique Fonseca - this man has a real future! The beginning panorama of Rio at night, Murilo's apartment and the pet shop, the wedding, a dose of religion, the final round of killings, the Rave - these and other scenes were filmed with such beauty and panache, propelling the plot with momentum, vigor, color, even tenderness as the Murilo's life changes bigtime. There are touches of humor - being in the dentist's chair, bathing a baby pig, ranting about the pitfalls of marriage. The musical score added immensely to the film, and the camera angles and overall cinematography were expert.

Here's to filmmakers from Brazil, Mexico, and other countries in Central and South America! I hope this film has a wide release, it deserves it.

I stumbled unto this film by mere coincidence. I had no idea what to expect, not being acquainted with the director, or any of its excellent stars, although I've seen quite a few Brazilian films. Director Jose Enrique Fonseca works miracles with this movie and in the process gets amazing performances from all of his cast.

This is a film where there is a lot of violence, but it also works as a moral tale. When all seems to be lost in the Brazilian society, we get a sort of paid avenger that will get rid of the bad element terrorizing the 'hood. This is the underlying theme of the film.

Maiquel, as played by Murilo Benicio, is a cool cat with no apparent scruples. Deep down, he strongly believes he is doing the right thing in helping people get revenge with what the inept police doesn't even bother to do. Mr. Benicio gives a controlled performance with funny moments. His relationship with the pet pig he receives from a satisfied customer, gives comic relief from his otherwise well known underground activities.

Claudia Abreu, a beautiful actress plays Cledir who eventually will marry Maiquel, the man she helped to give a "new blond look". Also in the cast, Natalia Lage, another gorgeous young woman who reappears in Maiquel's life only to transform herself when she discovers religion and wants him to join in the evangelical movement, something he never does.

Some people have compared this film to "City of God", and frankly, there is no basis for the comparison. While the latter film showed the life in the poor favelas, the characters of this film are lower middle class people with a different set of values in life. They're not completely destitute, or as hopeless, as the poor young people of the other film.

Mr. Fonseca, the director, shows great promise. We look forward to his next film.

Murilo Benecio is a young Brazilian actor who just keeps turning out fine, solid and very different character roles. As the leading character is this well made film by director Jose Henrique Fonseca from a script written by his father Rubem Fonseca in turn based on the novel 'O Matador' by Patricia Melo, Benecio molds a memorable portrait of a man of low self esteem who is strangely and inadvertently raised to the level of hero in the most bizarre of circumstances.

The setting is Rio de Janiero and Maiquel is a loner looking for an identity. On a bet he decides to have his dark hair bleached by the beautiful beautician Cledir (Claudia Abreu) and finds that as he steps back into his world he is the object of notice. After a cruel teasing by thug Suel (Wagner Moura) he buys a gun and almost unwittingly kills Suel who dies in the arms of his girlfriend Erica (Natalia Lage). Despite Maiquel's fears of his arrest he finds that the neighborhood rewards him for ridding them of a criminal and Maiquel becomes a hero. Not only is he rewarded with gifts (including a pet pig he names Bill after watching Bill Clinton's visit to Brazil on TV!), he is also given free dental work by Dr. Carvalho (Jorge Doria) in exchange for agreeing to kill an enemy of the dentist. More and more people ask Maiquel to whack bad people making Maiguel's new blond persona a hit man and man of the year. How he ultimately begins to spiral downward when his life is complicated by a marriage and family and holding a regular job forces him to initiate his own choices of violence and return to his original hair color to alter his destiny! If the story sounds odd, it is really a depiction of life in the city of Rio where the police are impotent to control the violence that prevails. Maiquel becomes the Robin Hood/Batman type who brings a degree of safety to his community. Wisely Benecio holds our attention and our compassion as he performs his many murders, creating a man in whom we can believe and applaud despite the grim things he does.

The cast is uniformly fine and the cinematography by Breno Silveira and the musical score by Dado Villa-Lobos (an important guitar player, relation to composer Heitor Villa-Lobos unknown!) is classy. This is yet another fine film from Brazil, in Portuguese, and one that deserves wide attention - especially for Murilo Benecio's superb performance. Recommended. Grady Harp

I started to see Brazilian movies a few years ago. And after «City of God», and the mini-series «Cidade dos Homens» («City of Men»), I was really expecting to see another movie about criminality, but outside the «favelas». Man of The Year, was the best picture on this subject, and together with «City of God» we can have a real perspective on the Brazilian crime scene.

The movie was really well directed, the script and the story were great and very original, and the photography and angles were very well done. The actors were Great ! as the Brazilian cast have already teach us on prior movies... They promise a lot !

It's a common story, about how everything started to an Hit-man... and it all make sense and happen in a so natural way... It's like the destiny was already written.

I specially enjoyed the end of the movie, because I was really expecting the «usual» bad ending on a movie like this... But the director give us a chance...

I gave a 9 out of 10 to this picture and I'm already waiting for the next Brazilian movie on this thematics.

Great Movie !

After getting his hair dyed blond as a bet, Máiquel goes to his local bar where he is laughed at by Suel. Enraged by this insult (in front of a girl), he returns later and shoots Suel. He is afraid of capture by the police but he finds that not only is he considered a hero by the local community but also by the police – who are happy that he killed Suel as he was a criminal but too young to be sent to jail. With his reputation as a vigilante he is approached by his dentist, Dr Carvalho to do another killing – a rapist who attacked his 17-year-old daughter. Máiquel finds himself drawn further into the killings while his life also tries to turn normal, with a new wife and a child on the way.

City of God has opened up the wider world to not only Brazilian cinema but South American generally and it is a good thing despite films that maybe didn't deserve it getting a wider release. This is not the case with this film, which I am glad got an European release and, thanks to arts channel BBC4, got it's UK television premiere a week or so ago. The plot covers similar ground as City of God in terms of it's subtext (if you could call such an obvious point 'sub') as it deals with the violence of the lower classes as contrasted with the apathy of those rich enough to afford to leave it behind. The film makes this point in an enjoyable story that sees Máiquel sucked into being a killer of criminals and being involved with the rich men within the local community, however he is only ever their tool and can easily be replaced – he is never more than a member of the lower classes, albeit a member that is temporarily useful. This main story is enjoyably slick and stylishly told and it's only downside is that it could easily have been just a little shorter and punchier. This works but it is made much better by Fonseca's comments on current society.

As already mentioned, Máiquel's descent into violence and despair is likened onto the spiral of despair and violence seen in the slums of Rio. Although the story is exaggerated for the sake of the film, the meaning is there nonetheless. The film makes the further point of it by showing several things within Máiquel's life that he has no control over – Érica and Bill are both things suddenly in his life that just happen and he seems unable to take action either way. With these social comments the film shows itself to be intelligent and aware and this helped me get over the occasional flaws in plotting. Also helping the film a great deal is the acting from a good cast.

Benício is a big actor in Brazil and he is good here, he starts as an arrogant kid and becomes increasingly frantic and violent. His character is basic but he keeps Máiquel an interesting person and never just a metaphor for Brazil's problems. Abreu also undergoes a transformation and, although in a smaller character, hers is even better. At the start of the film she is carefree and beautiful and, with mostly attitude and voice she becomes a tired, unattractive wife! The rest of the cast are all good in various roles and there are no real weak links. The performances are all natural and make the story feel very real when delivering a script set in a very believable Rio.

Overall, City of God may get all the press but this film is almost as good despite not being as expansive and stylish. The basic story is enjoyable and involving and is only made better by the layers of commentary on society that is carries with it. The direction is good and this is a very enjoyable film that will hopefully continue to be seen by greater audiences worldwide as a result of City of God's success.