"A Rainha Diaba" is Antonio Carlos da Fontoura's second film, 6 years (!!) after his critical and box-office hit "Copacabana Me Engana' (q.v.). Making a total change in theme and visual style, "Rainha..." is about an underworld drug dealer in Rio de Janeiro, called "queen" Diaba (meaning "she-devil" and played by Milton Gonçalves), who happens to be black, gay, powerful, vindictive and extremely violent. As one of Diaba's dealers and special protégé is threatened to be caught by the police, Diaba concocts with sleazy Catitu (Nelson Xavier) a plan to make small-time pimp Bereco (Stepan Nercessian) fall down in his place. But things don't turn out as expected, as treason lurks everywhere around Diaba.
This was one of the first Brazilian films to deal -- in expressionist, non-realistic style -- with then new reality of large-scale organized drug dealing in Rio's favelas, on its way to become the incredibly violent and bloody business it is today. In his candid, must-see interview for the DVD release, Fontoura explains the idea behind "Diaba": every time he smoked a joint he wondered the amount of bloodshed that came with it.
The most remarkable aspect of "Rainha" is its visual treatment: the colors scream, like a Frida Kahlo on acid. José Medeiros' lighting and agile camera-work are stunning, but it's Ângelo de Aquino's hallucinating, jaw-dropping sets and costumes that leave an indelible impression, making early Almodóvar seems conservative by comparison. Fontoura's sure-hand style manages to mix expressionism, hyper-realim and gory violence (be prepared to see gallons of blood throughout) with a stylized depiction of Rio's underworld, thanks to good locations and fine casting choices.
The four stars of the movie are in great shape: Milton Gonçalves' Diaba is rather two-dimensional (he had no time to prepare for his role) but his hopelessly masculine physique helps: it's because he's a dog of a drag queen that his violence and anger seem legitimate. Odete Lara (Fontoura's ex-wife) is still an impressively sexy woman at 45, brave in her fight/sex scene with Bereco and giving it all in her scary torture scene, and she's obviously delighted (so are we) to have the two singing numbers that function as breath-recovering pauses for the audience. Nelson Xavier does his sleazy act wittily, maybe a tad mannered but always avoiding clichés. Most of all, it's Stepan Nercessian who steals our attention, building a living flesh-and-blood character out of Bereco, from small-time pimp to wide-eyed novice crook to trapped mouse in a big game, always managing to making us care for him, even if he's a rotten scumbag.
Though less brilliant than Fontoura's first film -- the ending is particularly unsatisfying -- "Diaba" is still thrilling, definitely worth your time for its eye-popping colors, costumes and sets, especially in the sparkling new DVD release. My vote: 7 out of 10.
