Manas

This movie is truly captivating. It tells the story of a community in Brazil through the eyes of 13-year-old Tielle, who faces a grim and harsh reality. The filmmaking is particularly impressive - so much is conveyed without being explicitly shown. On top of that, the acting and cinematography are outstanding.

The work addresses an important yet ignored subject, something that takes place in the gaps of oversight, meaning in those places where access is restricted and internal rules attempt to normalize and create room for the absurd.

The familiarity of the interactions, mostly simple, initially conveys a natural intimacy to the family environment which, over time and with signs of abnormalities, slowly distorts itself and reveals the horror hidden in everyday conversations.

Thus, what was once something merely suspicious becomes, in retrospect, something that had offered many signs.

An important and sad subject that does not seem to show any solution.

Marcielle, known as Tielle, is 13 years old and lives with her family on an island in the Amazon rainforest. The only realities she knows are her house on stilts where everyone sleeps in the same room, the water and the pristine Amazon rainforest, the school, the church, and the store where you get what you need. There are no possible escapes, in her life, except in the barges that ply the river on which young and beautiful girls like Tielle can make some money (in what way is easy to figure out). At home they all sleep together in hammocks, but when Tielle's hammock breaks her father gladly houses her in his bed, and no one can say anything because there is nothing to say. Nor can anything be said when the father goes hunting in the thick of the Amazon rainforest taking only Tielle with him as help. The great merit of this story of child abuse is that the director talks about the violence without ever showing it directly, but making its characteristics and its immovability very clear. Violence in the family is there and is not discussed; it is seen as a natural fact that cannot be changed. Nor can the local police do much to help Tielle. The little girl will have to help herself, and she will do so with a lot of courage and determination. So much beauty (the unspoiled nature of the Amazon and Tielle herself, the beautiful young actress Jamile Correa) coexists with so much violence: but the film opens to hope, and that is another virtue of it.

I am absolutely amazed by how the director could convey violence without actually showing it. I'm from a different part of Brazil, but this movie is incredibly realistic and well done. As a woman, I knew what was going to happen before it all started, but I believe many men might be surprised. Approaches a delicate topic respecting the survivors. Congratulations Marianna B. Fortes for the incredible work you did.

Although "Manas" depicts the reality of Marajó Island, it reflects the reality of many families across Brazil. Alienation, limited education, and religious moralism are present in many other homes, and this is the main merit of "Manas." Simply showing something is powerful, and as the director has directed documentaries, she understands the power of simply showing. In a way, it's as if the camera were a living being, sending messages to the viewer even if the director isn't aware of them all. Ordinary, everyday scenes transform into profound revelations about the lives of these people. The director relied on naturalism to sustain the experience, and perhaps this is also the biggest problem with "Manas." The lack of a soundtrack or sophisticated mise-en-scène transforms "Manas" into a slow documentary. Of course, that's the premise, but the very naturalism of "Manas" is questioned by other naturalists who work with soundtracks and strong mise-en-scène. In other words, the idea that the soundtrack makes the film "less real" is highly questionable. And of course, lovers of overstimulating cinema might argue that cinema is inexorably an art that seeks to captivate the viewer, and that "Manas" therefore becomes more of a pseudo-documentary than a film. But as an art, cinema remains open to new experiences. Not that "Manas" is innovative, but it certainly doesn't follow the maxim "never make the viewer bored." Ultimately, the experience of Marianna Brennand's work is captivating because it is a "sample of reality" and, of course, respects the power of the camera as an instrument for revealing reality.