Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)

This movie is really excellent! I wish a Brazilian director had the guts to do it!

I read some stupid reviews here, like "what's with the frogs?" or complaining about the use of strong images, that the subjects should be 2 different movies, "there was no a-ha moment"... come on... seriously??

This movie is not about "a-ha moments" like stupid fiction movies. This is not Sunday afternoon entertainment. This is about what people have to deal daily. There are no bad guys or good guys. It's not that clear. There are good guys depending on how much you can afford...

Corruption, criminality and violence are all consequences. They are part of a never-ending cycle that began long ago.

Congratulations for the director, producer and crew.

Poor and superficial film, using disturbing images, playing with the American believe that Violence and Corruption only happen in other countries. This is a bad copy of other Brazilian movies, this people could be making Art with more social engagement , sensibility and respect for other cultures.

The worst part of the movie is when Kids are showed acting/playing as kidnappers. The director admitted that He asked the Kids to do the theater, but presents it as if it was reality, making the public believe that this is how kids play in the streets of Brazil. This is unetical, not a documentary, shouldn't be a reference.

I believe that it's time for the young Americans to start looking into solving their own problems at home. And not only look for sensationalism , violence and misery but, beauty and successful experiences in other cultures, not only they problems, feeding prejudices and fear.

It's time to exchange ideas , using art as communication, a Global believe of trust and enlightenment. Not only fear of the different, of the foreigner, the neighbor...

This is one of the finest documentaries I have ever seen.

It takes on a very difficult subject, violence and corruption in Brazil, and portrays its impact on the population through the lives of a dozen or so primary characters. The film interviews the ruthless kidnapper-murderer, exposes and interviews the corrupt politician, shows a kidnapping victim getting his ear cut off; yet it conveys this potentially depressing subject matter with stunning visual effects and an uplifting Brazilian music score that captures the great spirit of Brazil's people.

The film has footage of children playing in the slums of Sao Paolo, but they aren't playing soccer. They are instead recreating the growing crime of kidnapping and cutting off the victims body parts. An actual kidnapper tells the camera he doesn't think much about the kidnappings and murders he commits. He then explains as a proud father that he has nine children and his wife is about to have their tenth. He concludes saying, "maybe one of them will grow up to fix this country".

The film opens by saying it cannot be shown in Brazil. I hope this does not prove to be the case and that it can be shown not only in Brazil but throughout Latin America and around the globe. It should be mandatory viewing for everyone everywhere concerned with the escalating vicious cycle of poverty, neglect, violence, and corruption that plagues mankind.

The film portrays an egocentric point of view. It adds to the typical assumption that American are ethnocentric and can only see the world from their own perspective. The director adopted an egocentric and ethnocentric position. He did not allow the narratives to flow within the main theme. He literally directed narratives to a conclusion he had pre-conceived. Superficial as it is, it does not encompass the complex socioeconomic system in which it takes place.

It is disturbing and without any sense to see interpreters competing with characters their speech. It is a shame to show an egocentric doctor, proud of himself and ignoring the painful and traumatic circumstances their patients were exposed. It is also questionable whether a "successful business man" who had been kidnapped, would agree to expose himself in a documentary such as it intended to be. This raises questions around the credibility of this documentary.

It is very pretentious to say that Manda Bala explains violence and political frauds in Brazil. It is clear that no one involved in this production knows about Latin America and much less international foreign policies and unnecessary to say, skipped sociology classes.

"Manda Bala" is everything you could want in a documentary, or in any film, for that matter! Directed in a style akin to the finer films of Errol Morris, "Manda Bala" is beautifully shot, brilliantly edited, and has a tremendous musical score. Shot in Brazil over several years, this documentary smartly examines the nature of corruption and class division in a truly engaging & entertaining way; the film is gripping from beginning to end, and has an immediacy that has world-wide relevance and resonance. The story is tightly woven, but the film still breathes in an almost perfect way, with just the right amount of tension & release. I am INCREDIBLY impressed by the amazing, dare I say artistic work that first-time director Jason Kohn has toiled to put together. Everyone-and-their-brothers-in-law-too should go see "Manda Bala", as soon as it's given wide-release, post-Sundance!