Frei Tito

A really great tribute to Frei Tito, a Dominican friar who was known for his support to the cause of opositors of the military regime and later on was arrested and tortured by chief of police Sérgio Fleury to such extreme traumatizing point that Tito committed suicide years later while living on exile in Paris. The film was made in the early 1980's when Tito's remains were sent back to Brazil where a mass was performed at the Catedral da Sé where his memory and legacy were celebrated.

Along with the feature film "Batismo de Sangue" (2006) and the amazingly forgotten short "Morto no Exílio" (1979), this short brings audiences closer to the man's cause and his later suffering, through some brief interviews with friends and colleagues - which consider him a late victim of the dictatorship rather than saying he killed himself; and there's some narration from Miriam Mehler as the tribute mass on him is presented. Photos, letters and news on Frei Tito are also presented, all revealing details about the man even in his darkest final days as PTSD victim who still felt the presence of Fleury around him even while on exile many years later.

A very important and historic short film on a remarkable martyr, it's great directorial debut by actress Marlene França. 9/10.