"Opression" tells the story of a young woman (Gabriela Cardoso) dealing a series of unfortunate events and pressures coming from all sides while
trying to live her life and work in the chaos of a dangerous city. From waiting for her ex-husband to get home to take of their baby, of which he refuses
for no valid reason, then taking the child to her mother (Walderez de Barros), of whom they don't agree on anything, and then witnessing a violent attack
at work where she works as a dancer on a punk/alternative club, there's no chance of salvation and problems come from all possible sources. Will she make
it through the night?
A brutally and visceral experience to be seen and analyzed, even though it's themes aren't new in any way. It has been done before and better, yet
I was thrilled with everything that it had to present. If it gives the impression of falling on a pointless void, there are issues to be thought out when
it comes to how all of us, at some point in our lives, deal with the pressures of the city and people, known and unknown, and that sometimes we feel so
helpless that any event can crush us in a heartbeat and without a chance to react in a favorable way. It's one of those days and one of those times where
you shouldn't get out of the house at all because every step you'll take there'll be a pinch of disaster waiting for you around the corner.
While I liked the film for the seriousness it treats everything, with some odd dark humored bits, I was disappointed in not seeing a more visual work
when it comes to show the city of São Paulo and its chaotic grandiosity, with some important locations. Everything is so controlled and hidden that one
doesn't have a full view of the place but only of people. And the director had a great period to cover, the city of the early 1990's with a fascinating
underground culture, here represented with the punk club where a group of neonazi storm the place in a terrifying manner. Rock group Inocentes make a cameo
in it where the girl acts as one of the dancers.
Be ready for a dramatic and tense story but one that it's real or at least you could imagine it happening someday, somewhere. Depressive as hell. 8/10.
