Cabeça a Prêmio (2009)

Cabeça a Prêmio: Directed by Marco Ricca. With Alice Braga, Ana Maria Braga, Cássio Gabus Mendes, Daniel Hendler. The Menezes, a powerful family of animal breeders from the Mid-West, have always been at the helm of all illegal dealings in the region. In recent times, they’ve watched as the system that protected them for so many years slowly disintegrates. Mirão Menezes lives at the mercy of the drug-trafficking industry, the ever-encroaching authorities, and the constant and violent power struggle with his brother Abílio. Mirão’s daughter Elaine becomes involved with her father’s pilot, finds herself pregnant and decides to flee with him after her Uncle Abílio bribes them. Brito, the hitman sent to find the couple and finish them off, is ironically also victim of a love story.

“I just saw this movie today and thought it was wonderful.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe acting was excellent, from one end to the other. The scenes, the flashbacks, the drama, the horror, the faith vs doubt theme … all were entwined in a back-and-forth web that maintained constant focus on the strongest feature of all: the Story itself.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd what a Story! I wonu0026#39;t give it away except to say that the plots and subplots and intrigue and characterizations were all woven together to spin a simply riveting, terrifying, provocative, endearing, challenging Story.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI really liked the multiple depictions of What Happens and How the Characters React. You see Something Happen; and then feel Fear; and then watch the Face of the Character on hand experience Fear; and then perhaps the order is slightly changed: you see the Face of the Character experience Fear as the Character gazes in terror over the vieweru0026#39;s shoulder. Then you see What the Character is looking at. And experience Fear.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI also really liked the legal conflict … and the way the Story honored both sides. Thereu0026#39;s no doubt, ever, where our sympathies lie: with the Laura Linney character. Yet, the prosecutor is not at all a u0026quot;straw man.u0026quot; He is give a great opening, and is effective and believable throughout. This enhanced greatly the Doubt vs Faith conflict that reinforced the Story throughout.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd through all this, the Priestu0026#39;s insistence that the Story should be told, is what really drove the action above all. This gave a feeling of authenticity to the Story that both made it appealing, and frightening.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA wonderful, wonderful, movie … !”