Danielborges

It's crazy to think this no-budget guns blazing endeavor all lies in the shoulders of one man. João Bruno, the one-man show here (who stars and directs, amongst MANY other things) shows dedication, a cinematic vision, some neat After Effects skills and hours and hours of free time to bring this all together. Oh, and probably free access to a warehouse full of realistic guns and props at his disposal.

But truth be told, he should have showed some restraint. Best Cop Ever is very repetitive and too damn long. Specially for a amateurish film. It's one shoot out after the other with the same actors, guns, costumes and looks. Story is also confusing, not very well written and plagued with non-sensical situations.

Have the feeling this started with a visual effects guy with spare time, wacky ideas and no budget wanting to work on something fun. The result is a glorified student fantasy film that embraces silliness in the best way.

It's clear the main actor (and perhaps all the others) has zero acting experience and I dig what they are doing here. But because of that, the jokes delivery, the visual gags and the existencial dialogue ramblings (and there's a lot of that) are a hit-and-miss.

But hey: this is probably the first dark fantasy film ever made in Portugal. And that's an achievement we cannot ignore!

The second time director Paulo Fajardo tackles the french invasions, right after his doc "A Primeira Linha de Wellington". This time with a fictional narrative at his core and a more cinematic ambition. However, it really doesn't go far-off from his previous effort, both in style and content.

The strongest points are the dialog, the actors and costumes. The soundtrack, while not memorable, does a very competent job in setting the mood. Technically is all over the place. There are sequences that shine, while others suffer from poor sound, lighting or other issues like the soap opera feel or the obvious smokey filter that sometimes feels out of place.

It's clear Terra Queimada is a joint effort from many parts that aren't experienced in cinema and, at the same time, dealing with budgetary constraints. But they still managed to give birth to a coherent and poignant movie who deals with a heavy subject with respect.