Ich Du Sie - Darlenes Männer

This film portrays the life of the Brazilian poor in the arid interior, and that life is hard. You take your pleasures where and when you can. Regina Case gives a vivid performance as the polyamorous wife-lover; she is no more "ugly" than Frances McDormand, Maggie Smith or a host of other actresses who don't do Vogue covers. Gilberto Gil's music is very evocative, it's like an actor in the story.

Finally, I want to praise Lima Duarte's performance as the husband; he knows life is passing him by and death is approaching, so he doesn't let Darlene's sexual habits bother him. It is a very expressive star turn in the Philippe Noiret tradition.

First of all, let me say I'm not into movies that depict the suffering of poor people, but this is NOT one of them. It does show the hard life of people living on the edge of Brazil's Northeastern desert, but it is not your regular social protest stuff, and I think it might help these people even better BECAUSE of it.

I'm not against using cinema to protest against social structures, but sometimes the movies can make you see the poor as sub-human. This is not the case here: they have a pretty hard life, indeed, but the director shows us also the beauty of even the arid hinterland where they live. And not only they feel love, like any of us spectators: in this case, they happen to be able to work out a relationship that is unusual for us "urban people" to see, in such a relatively peaceful way.It is a true story, and they can actually teach us that love is everywhere, and in many shapes for us to choose.

On the face of it, the simple plot of the film would not seem enough to sustain the audience's interest. Darlene, an imposing young woman with an illegitimate child, returns to her home in the outback of the Bahia region of Brazil. There she marries an older man, has his child, then takes up with two other men and has children with them as well, all of them living together on the edge of poverty. The powerful acting, a hauntingly beautiful visual style, a landscape both harsh and lovely all make this a cinematic treasure in which one's attention never flags for a moment. It is a film which continues to resonate weeks after seeing it. I look forward to seeing it again and again.

While some have commented that Regina Case, the female lead, is ugly, that is not remotely so because of an inner (and very natural) radiance, happiness and joy that Regina projects in a fine performance that warms the heart and lifts the spirits. It, along with spectacular photography, other simple but very "real" performances, and a joyous soundtrack easily lifts the movie to a "10" rating. That such a liberated and brilliant movie should come out of Roman Catholic Brazil is surprising -- a woman who manages to satisfy three husbands with only a little "condemnation" registered by others. The movie also gives us a glimpse into how life somehow happily goes on in an unimaginably harsh environment. It makes for an engrossing and rewarding, yet very understated movie. No Hollywood bells and whistles here, thank goodness. It is real.

"Eu Tu Eles" tells the story of Regina Case. A headstrong peasant woman in dusty rural Brasil who needs the support of 3 men to fulfill the traditional role of a husband. Each of the men help her attain different areas of fulfillment - a economic provider, a soulmate, and a lustful sexual partner.

Its a simple story and you do feel that the movie drags on much more than necessary as it shows how people are mutually dependant. The soundtrack of the movie is excellent, and I think what makes it work is the background - the pallete of the story set in rural Brasil. Directory Andrucha Waddington and cinematographer Brendo Silveira used prominent reds, browns, and ochres, fading into deep shadows to give a dusky, lusty beauty to the landscape. Its a very raw beauty - the clouds, the trees are prominent, and stagnant which go on to enhance the location of the story and the lives of its main protagonists.