Trash

I never thought that garbage can be so beautiful. Indeed, in this film it is. Stephen Daldry successful squeezes an incredible set design, visualization is absolutely fantastic. From the favelas of Brazil, to the beautiful landscapes, it all looks just stunning. The thing I like is also editing, the sequences are fast and dynamic and it is just right on. If we look at the movie more closely, we can see a close relationship between the boys, playfulness of the youth, hope in a brutal world. It is dominated by the playful dynamics among them, how they learn about the world through adolescence. Although the government is corrupt, and the police puts misery and poverty beneath the low, there is hope and the will to live. Mara and Sheen are acting as missionaries who help these children, living from the garbage, to a better future. Not bad acting, but the characters... Sheen as a priest, Mara as a assistant, it seems somewhat they are missing all the action. The best I can describe, sometimes I had the feeling watching them behind a bottle of glass. I must mention the script and story is short in depth and is weary predictable, not to mention the contradictory. But nonetheless it is a well made move, worth watching, and I give it a go.

When I saw the trailer of this movie it did not appeal to me. The movie seemed like a common Hollywood action movie, but after seeing it I know that this movie has a lot to offer. The story begins when Raphael (at the age of 14) finds a wallet in the garbage and shows it to his two friends. Once the boys find out how much the wallet is wanted by the police they decide to unravel the mystery behind it, using clues from the wallet. What follows is a fascinating journey full of action, humor and drama through the slums of Rio de Janeiro. You see the raw side of the city, it feels like you are there. Also the music puts you in the right vibe. The solidarity, perseverance and the struggle to achieve justice, gives you a real connection with the three boys. Slowly all the pieces fit together while it builds up to a thrilling end. This movie seems to have a clear message to give. It makes you think about justice and well-being, but at the same time it is an easy watching feel good movie. This movie has it all!

A brilliantly exciting film from start to finish. The three boys are a triumph, and the way the film handles them, and uses their emotional closeness, their friendship, is a credit to Director Stephen Daldry and his crew, as well as to the three boys themselves, recruited from the streets of Brazil. The story jumps from one level of excitement to the next in a series of clever set pieces that, at the same time as they increase the tension to almost unbearable levels, answer the questions raised by the mystery; what exactly is the significance of what the boys find, as they comb through the giant mountains of trash, trying to earn enough to eat from recycling plastic and tin? The chase scenes through the favelas are exhilarating. Literally, you find yourself talking out loud. The film is a celebration of Andy Mulligan's stunning novel of the same name.

In the barrio of Rio de Janeiro... no. In the slums that make the barrio seem like Limbo, if not Paradise, a couple of 14-year-old friends, Rickson Tevis and Eduardo Luis scratch out a few reals working in the trash heaps, bright with colorful plastic. Tevis finds a wallet. In the wallet are hundreds of reals, and some puzzling papers. They take them to the Americans who see to their needs for a spiritual life and something to fill their bellies, priest Martin Sheen and nun Rooney Mara, but share only a few gifts. Instead, they puzzle over the papers. When the police show up and offer immense sums of money, they recruit sewer dweller Gabriel Weinstein, and go on a journey that takes them from prison to police and political corruption.

We're used to film noir, expressionistic cameras that let us know that something is askew. Co-directors Stephen Daldry and Christian Duurvoort don't bother with that. Instead, cameraman Adriano Goldman shoots in bright light, and the trash in the muddy waters these character live by, contrasted with the clean white beaches that the rich and tourists see, nauseate us. It's not just trash they live amidst; they are considered trash. Yet this story, from a novel by Andy Mulligan, offers a tale of yearning for justice, and a hope of redemption.

I'm Portuguese and i speak reasonably well English. So i was able to watch this movie with no subtitles. Thanks God! The subtitling was awful, translating Portuguese to English. How can i resume this movie? Tropa de Elite meets Da Vinci Code? Weird no? No, nothing like that. This is an amazing picture of poverty, hope, friendship and trying to do the right thing, no matter what. It's hard to me to explain why i loved this movie. But i have no trouble to explain the main message: Brazil is a corrupt and dangerous country, not because of the common thieves, of the poor people, but because of the corrupt police and the rich and powerful people. A poor thief could steal a couple of bucks, a rich one could steal millions.