The Park Maniac

The Park Maniac is a movie based on the true story of Francisco, a Brazilian serial killer who lived in São Paulo in the 1990s.

As the movie begins, his entire arc quickly becomes secondary to the plot and feels rushed. You don't get to learn his full story or how he began killing. Instead, he has already killed many women, and there is no development of his character.

The spotlight shifts to the story of Elena, a journalist on a quest to discover herself while struggling against machism in the brazilian press and society.

My main criticism is that you never feel connected to her story. If the intention was to highlight the struggles of women during that time, I believe focusing on the victims would have made for a much richer and more compelling story.

The whole film misses the point, and in the end, you feel cheated, expecting a serial killer story but getting something completely different.