This is not a neatly crafted film by standard cinematic norms. It's a trashy and radical manifesto of cinema's poetic insertion into Latin American sociopolitical reality. Surreally, it introduces the Thing, a kabuki samurai (a striking Jô Soares), dwarfs, and ordinary citizens into a hallucinatory reality where fascism is a cheap imitation of sexual repression and a robotic, alienating farce. The Latin Hitler does himself a favor by following the example of the German suicide who inspired him. José Agrippino de Paula conceived a self-sabotaging feature not only in its visual editing but-above all-in its sound design. There is clearly a script, but it's conceived as situations meant to be deconstructed by scenic unpredictability. There are few intelligible lines, and the editing should be understood more as a malfunctioning radio in musique concrète. Its set design carries a sense of futurism reminiscent of Godard's Alphaville, but in an even cheaper version.
For me, the film's greatest strength lies in Jorge Bodansky's steady camera work between the street and the theatricalization of reality, blurring the boundaries between documentary and fiction. It's a visionary and influential piece for Brazilian experimental cinema, created by a cine-poet who is more a multimedia artist than a filmmaker.
