"São Paulo - Cinemacidade" is the kind of project I've always dream of and never knew it existed until I look up for the director's filmography in some other site and
found it very easy on the internet. Why a dream project? This is a short documentary that presents the city of São Paulo as seen through the optic of countless movies whose
scenario was the city, one of the largest cities of Brazil, the financial heart of the country and the place where I live, and also a fantastic city who served as scenery for
many Brazilian and some international films out there, and it's always interesting to see the historical and important locations from the city, unknown parts as well, from the
upper side to the lower side, rich, middle class and poor places. As for the movies presented, a very comprehensive list of films from the silent era to the then present 1990's
are shown in a very constructed manner with chapters that deal with the elements of anonymity, transformation, crowd, dimension and precariousness inside the chaos and the
multitude of cultures of the city.
So we have a comprehensive collage of images that takes us back from the early 20th Century when streets weren't so filled with people and automobiles, then we keep on
moving to a modern era with bicycles, cars, buses, the subway; people from all walks of life, social status, colors and creed, a real gathering of characters and the situations
and obstacles they face inside this giant megalopolis. Some of the movies presented include "O Grande Momento", "Pixote: A Lei Do Mais Fraco", "Kiss of the Spider Woman" (too bad
it's a very short, small segment with William Hurt admiring the view from his apartment; they should have use the sequence where he's followed by the cops, shot on Sé Square, the
city's downtown); "São Paulo, Sociedade Anônima", "Noite Vazia" and countless others, which also includes many rares film that its existence is obscure, probably lost and the
few fragments existing of such movies can be viewed only here - when the final credits roll a voice over informs the movie, year of release and director, and I took notes of
all the titles - two of them I couldn't find any information at all, not even here neither on the database of Cinemateca Brasileira.
I abolsutely loved this film, it evoked many memories from the places I recognised from some of the films shown and also good memories from the few titles I've seen, and
also it made aware of so many movies I haven't heard before and it left me curious about them. I think this is an incredible city that despite its countless social and
economical contradictions which creates an insane abyss between those who have and those who have not, it's still a very fascinating place to live, visit and it's also one that
gets beautifully presented through the lens of films and artists who used São Paulo as a background for their stories, real and fictional ones. Truly impecable and a rarity
that deserves more views and recognition from audiences all over the world. 10/10.
