"Lili, A Estrela do Crime" ("Lili the Crime Star") tells the story of the infamous criminal and robber Lili Carabina, who commanded a group that
made several bank heists in the late 1970's and early 1980's, the movie cannot be seen as the real account of her story thanks to a campy fest device of
humored moments and inacurate bits. The basis for the character played by Betty Faria is true to life: her husband was killed by the police and she was left
alone to take care of her two children; then she joins a gang of robbers and she decides to avenge the man's death and the robberies attract media attention
and also she gets noticed by a chief of police (Reginaldo Faria) who's near retirement. Well, let's just say it's half truth because despite the media
coverage of her, the author of two books on her, the soap opera king Aguinaldo Silva has said the woman is figment of his imagination, she never existed
despite proven records saying the opposite and many of them even say she got arrested in the late 1980's.
If not taken too much seriously - thanks to a heavy dose of comedy and comical situations presented - the movie works in presenting us the story of
a powerful woman who terrorized people and places with her almost infalible plans and schemes, and thanks to her beauty, more accentuated with extravagant
costumes, heavy makeup and a blonde wig. Betty Faria is a powerful force behind such character, she dominates the screen with presence and fascination, to
the point where she can make her Lili encounters the chief of police and seduce him while pretending to be victim of a shooting - unbelivable part of the
story but one that's fun to watch.
Those who take the other direction wanting this to be a real account of events, a biopic of the criminal will walk out shaking their heads in disbelief and
pain because there was an opportunity to present the real story and it was waster in a dull commerical film destined to be an empty and soulless project
generated to cause confusion in the audience with its excessive humor that isn't all that funny, and it's also confusing due to excessive use of flashbacks
that don't improve the story, they just make everything look chaotic. One clear example is when Lili finds the man who killed her husband. We watch them on
a hotel room where she tries to kill him with a shotgun but then let's him go, preparing a whole scenario where she throws a greande at him. Cut to some bits
later and the man is just kidnapped. It's hard to know if he died or not, or the kidnapping came first (though told later). The sequence of flashbacks also
involve her partner in crime and bed (played by Mario Gomes), after he gets arrested. There are several moments of him during the crimes, then in jail and later
on his escape. Those moments aren't so damaging as the first but they generate plenty of confusion, it's all messy.
I liked the film as a form of escapism, there are many good action sequences and it was well acted by the cast, which also includes the funny performance
of Patricia Travassos, as a member of the group. The soundtrack featuring tracks from Kid Abelha, Lobão and others is pure 1980's, at its best.
I just got my expectation a little bit reduced because I was hoping for a more serious film than the one we
got. I wasn't disappointed, but I know for a fact that Lui Farias could have made a better film with the material he got. 7/10.
