Alvorada

Good documentary on a dramatic episode in Brazilian recent history: 2016 parliamentery coup that ousted democratically elected president Dilma Rousseff, the first (and only, until this moment) woman to reach that office ever. It is the third of three main documentaries made in Brazil about the fake impeachment. All k three have quite good and important footage, and are directed by women, but strategies and approaches are diverse. The first and best of them, O Processo, by Maria Ramos, as the name points out, portrays the whole process that lead to democratic breakdown, showing most of the core actors. This Alvorada, directed by Anna Muylaert and Lô Politi, the third of those films, on the other hand, focuses Dilma Rousseff herself, and around her: her reactions, movements, opinions. It shows Dilma Rousseff in her humanity: a person who may be sometimes harsh, sometimes sweet, but always clever, authentic and brave. While it is not the best documentary about the coup, it is much better than Democracia em Vertigem (The Edge of Democracy), which was nominee for Oscar. This latter, the second of them and certainly the most famous, is the only one which has a lot of (very boring) narration, and focuses neither the process, nor the ousted president, but the view and lives of director Petra Costa and her mother. Let us see if Alvorada will also receive less attention than it deserves, just like excellent The Process.