Linha de Passe

Set in São Paulo, Brazil's largest city, this film follows the lives of one family. This family consists of single mother Cleuza, who works as a cleaner for a middle class family, and her four sons, by different fathers; Dario, who dreams of making it as a football star; Dênis, who works as a motorcycle courier; Dinho, a born again Christian who works and a local petrol station and helps at the church he attends; and Reginaldo, who travels around on the city's buses hoping to find his father. There is no plot as such; we just observe each of them as they live their daily lives and try to achieve their personal goals.

As I started watching this I knew nothing about the film so had no real idea of what to expect. Early on I was waiting for 'something to happen' but not much does till quite near the end and even then most of the questions raised aren't answered. That might frustrate some viewers but I gradually felt myself drawn into the characters' lives. Directors Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas do a fine job keeping everything very real... for example a motorbike pursuit through the city's busy streets feels more real, and thus more dangerous, than more extreme chases featuring obvious stunts and set-pieces. The cast are equally impressive so it feels as though we are watching their lives not watching people act. Overall I'd say this won't be for everybody but if you want a solid character lead film this is well worth checking out.

These comments are based on watching the film in Portuguese with English subtitles.

In the periphery of São Paulo, the pregnant single mother Cleuza (Sandra Corveloni) works as maid in the apartment of a middle-class family. Each of her sons has a different unknown father: the oldest, Dênis (João Baldasserini), has a baby son that lives with his mother and he works as motorcycle courier; Dinho (José Geraldo Rodrigues) is Christian converted and works as attendant in a gas station; Dario (Vinícius de Oliveira) is an aspirant soccer player that is getting older without the expected chance in a team; and the youngest, Reginaldo (Kaique Jesus Santos), is obsessed to find his black father that works as a bus driver, and spends most of his spare time traveling by bus. Along the months, each brother experiences new deceptions and expectations while the family fights to survive.

"Linha de Passe" is an overrated tale about the invisible people that live in the periphery of big cities. The characters are very realistic, but the screenplay and the edition have many cuts, and the development of the characters is very confused in the beginning. The movie also uses unnecessary footages of the Corinthians soccer team that has the second largest legion of fans in Brazil after Flamengo, maybe with the intention of increasing the box office in São Paulo. The acting is top-notch and Vinícius de Oliveira is indeed a good soccer player. The inconclusive open end is deceptive – the writers could have written a non-corny conclusion, for the good or for the bad of the characters. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Linha de Passe"

Linha de Passe (2008) tells the story of 5 characters whose lives connect naturally, because they are a family. Cleuza is pregnant and is a single mother of four sons: Dênis, Dario, Dinho and Reginaldo. Their stories are very interesting, well thought out and relate in a great way. Besides, it has a smart writing, an escalation in the narrative... Through this 5 stories, George Moura and Daniela Thomas explore many important social issues in Brazil, such as poverty, unemployment and inequality in an entertaining way. The realism in the screenplay and in other aspects I'm gonna mention, add to this movie a strong documentary appeal. The lines are fantastic.

What reinforces realism the most is the set, with many real locations, the costume design, make up and the acting. It's not by chance that Sandra Corveloni (Cleuza) won the Cannes Film Festival (2008) Best Actress prize. She is brilliant in Linha de Passe, with a very believable acting and an amazing chemistry with the boys, as if she was really their mother.

João Baldasserini is very charismatic as Dênis; Vinícius de Oliveira owns every Dario scene, he is very natural; Geraldo Rodrigues nailed in portraying somebody who passes through a roller coaster of feelings, like Dinho does and Kaique Jesus Santos stealed the attention with his sarcasm and irony as Reginaldo. One of the best child actings I've ever seen.

In addition to all of this there are the perfectly simple and beautiful Gustavo Santaolalla scores; Mauro Pinheiro Jr. Clever cinematography, that utilizes the city light and Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas sensitive shots.

Everything named contributed to a very worth watching drama that, unfortunately, still represents a lot Brazil.

This movie is similar to Walter Salles' "Central Station," in that it shows a part of Brazilian life that people know very little about: the poor suburbs of the big cities. This time, he looks at a family living on the outskirts of Sao Paulo and the everyday struggles they face. Salles shows what life is like for the poor in Brazil without the in your face violence from "City of God" but with the same grace and humor as Central Station.

Part of the success of the film are the wonderful actors, who turned a decent script into much more. Sandra Corveloni won Best Actress for the film at Cannes, and Vinicius de Oliveira, famous for his amazing performance as a child in "Central Station," plays one of Sandra's sons. Kaique Jesus Santos plays Sandra's youngest son, who equals Vinicius' "Central Station" performance.

Don't expect an action movie or love story, but do expect the chance to get a glimpse of the real Brazil.

I haven't many comments to add, but something I really noticed in this good movie is that Walter Salles got a lot of inspiration, specially camera takes and editing, by Alejandro G. Iñarritu, not to mention the instrumental background music. The tone of Salles movies remains focused in the hope and good heart of the poorest despite deep unfairness of Brazillian society. Unfortunately, we do not watch good actor Vinicius Oliveira acting more often. The "moto boys" were admirably portrayed as well as the church followers. By the way, Corinthians, the football team supported by The Mother indeed went to 2nd. division in real life, as she worried at the beginning of the movie.