Bacurau

One of the strangest films I've seen, in any language, but it must have been good because I'm still processing it a day or two later. The underlying meaning and the intent are not too far off the mark - we're all targeted, hunted and sacrificed by factions that seek to profit from our misfortune, lack of opportunity, demographic, vulnerability and fear; especially when amplified by poverty - if we don't look after ourselves, nobody will. One for all and all for one!

Man this movie really goes for it.

A wild, wild movie that feels like both a nod to Sergio Leone by way of Quentin Tarantino (though that's basically just saying this is like a Tarantino movie) and something wholly its own, "Bacurau" is a fiercely original howl of rage at white oppression and exploitation. The inhabitants of Bacurau, a small village in rural South America, are in a literal fight for survival against a band of gun-crazed killers, most of them American, who don't seem to have a motive for wiping them out beyond the exhilaration of killing people. They decide to fight back. That plot summary seems simple and linear. But as it plays out in the movie, it's instead a tangled knot of teased plot strands, information strategically withheld, and a gradual spiral from straightforward storytelling to almost surreal narrative.

I would normally complain about a movie like this that wants us to cheer on brutality just because those committing it have themselves been brutalized. But despite, or maybe because, this movie is so unapologetic in its violence and rage, it's utterly captivating and exhilarating. Disturbing to be sure, but also tremendously exciting.

Grade: A.

'Bacurau (2019)' is many things, but unoriginal isn't one of them. The film begins with a young woman returning to her remote home village with supplies such as vaccines, but it eventually morphs into something rather unexpected. I won't spoil anything specific here, but it's safe to say that the flick doesn't conform to any one genre. It doesn't even flip fully between its varying tones; it consistently carves out its own versions of them. It's difficult to describe, in a way. Essentially, it's never quite what you expect it to be, even when it seems to be heading in a specific direction. In many ways, it's all the better for it. It truly feels like its own thing, an amalgamation of influences that emerges as a distinct experience in its own right. There's nothing especially groundbreaking about any of its individual elements, but it finds freshness in the way in which it puts them all together. It's fairly long and it drags a little in places, but it's typically an enigmatic and entertaining affair that does a good job pulling you into its idiosyncratic world. It's at its best when focusing on the inhabitants of its eponymous village. Whenever it cuts to its other major set of characters, it loses quite a bit of steam and feels a bit tonally incongruent. There's a lot going on here, both in terms of plot and theme. Though it isn't fully cohesive, it's impressive that it manages to come together as nicely as it does. Apparently a lot of it plays out as satire of Brazil's current political landscape, but I don't know anything about Brazil's current political landscape; I'm unashamed to admit that most of the political satire went over my head. Ultimately, the picture is an enjoyable and well-written genre mash-up that's impressive in its ability to avoid labels and still deliver a compelling narrative.

This movie gets you going in a way that maybe you weren't expecting from an action thriller and shows genuine characters that you come to care about really early. It also introduces you to a place that's rough and angry and you realize that there's a perfect symbiosis with this rugged land and with its people. The problems they suffer on a daily basis ( lack of water, food, unwilling and corrupted government officials ), make them to the eye of certain people and corporations as second class citizens and maybe PREY!!!

Bacurau embraces so many strong topics: the endemic violence in Brazil, the gun culture and god complex of the US, social gap, political corruption, historical resistance of Nordeste (Brazil's Northeast region) and the "complexo de vira-lata" (inferiority complex) of the people by their own country. These are all packed in a mystery/thriller/western entertaining film set in the Sertão. It's already a classic and an important addition to Brazilian contemporary cinema.