Boi Neon

I don't know if this is allowed but here goes. I see a lot of movies and submit a review for most of them. I really didn't know how to describe neon bull so I didn't review it. I just wanted to say that the review by eurogary (see above) says pretty much what I was thinking but couldn't manage to put down on paper, so to speak. a cowboy's journey through a few days of his life. it is really a very good movie and unusual. one thing I would point out is that even in eastern brazil, where there doesn't seem to be a lot going on, web addresses appear on most of the advertising signs filmed. it is a small world after all. and yes indeed, this is not a movie for prudes.

This is a curious movie. It has no plot, no story, not even a premise that I could put my finger on. It's a bit like a documentary: we follow for a few days a little group of relatives (3 men, a woman and a little daughter) who work for a rodeo, somewhere in rural Brazil. We see them in their every day lives, doing their work and chores, eating, sleeping, relaxing, having sex, without anything special ever happening. The only thing slightly remarkable is the fact that male character Iremar as a hobby designs and sews dresses, that are worn by the woman when she performs her sexy dance routine for a crowd of roaring cowboys.

The pace is slow, we mainly observe, the dialogues are sparse, and the short scenes alternate as if at random, but always with the camera close by, which results in an intense realistic and authentic feeling. A warning to animal-lovers: the rough treatment of the bulls, as well as a manual "milking" of a stallion for its sperm is all shown without restraint! There is also one very graphic sex scene between Irimar and a pregnant woman, that - a bit out of character with the rest - is disproportionately prolonged to almost ten minutes. Although it is filmed beautifully in clair obscure, I do wonder why director Gabriel Mascaro chose to make it so extensive.

The movie ends pretty much in mid air, with nothing at all changed since the opening scene. Leaving me with a feeling of what was the purpose of it all. We were allowed a few furtive glances into the lives of some hard working people, but hardly got any deeper than that, so we didn't really got to know them. It's an interesting, and definitely a sincere movie, but - as far as I'm concerned - nothing more.

As someone who moved with his family to the other end of the world (Montevideo) at age 2 and absorbed that culture until age 8, I am always attracted to South American movies. It is a much different world, and Neon Bull shows that in every aspect. The sensuality mixed with brutality, the sheer strangeness of cowboys ogling a dancing scantily clad woman wearing a horse head and hooves, and unique relationships which of necessity are forged by the need to survive a hostile environment make this a compelling watch. It's an upside down world to be sure, and if you are tired of MPAA ratings affecting what you watch, let alone the excess censorship of most television, this is for you. Enjoy the ride, although for some it may take you by the tail and tip you off your feet.

Beautiful film, thoughtful, intriguing with wonderful cinematography and performances and some great, inventive well-written scenes, definitely worth watching. But: Do not watch if you cannot see animal cruelty depicted. No idea what obscenely cruel humans invented and still perpetuate this absolutely horrible bull sport depicted in the film, some have tried to ban it but been overruled by 'cultural' exceptions' -culture should not excuse it- it is horrifying.

A very naturalistic approach, an honest eye, nothing feels enhanced, curated or manipulated, although it surely has, it's a movie. But the impression is that of a fly on the wall camera shooting some sort of South-American road movie and it's of course very fresh because we rarely get to see that kind of life, landscape, culture, even people. It took me a while to understand the concept of the rodeo here because it's so wildly different from US ones, these bulls barely look like bulls and the purpose is to grab them by the tail and make them fall down. Crazy right? It took me a while to understand the first scene, where he dusts the bull's tail.

So nothing is censored and we get a lot of profanity, nudity, abuse and even child abuse, rough living, a hard life that these guys don't complain that much about. They want more money to do or get other stuff, but the odd thing about it is that at least Iremar seems to enjoy what he does for a living, or at least not to be bothered by it. He doesn't hide or block the other side of him. He just lives his life.

It's a fine movie for the above reasons and if that sounds interesting go ahead. It didn't blow my mind as some said it would, it didn't even rock my evening and it was difficult to find but I personally don't regret seeing it. I appreciate the otherness of this movie. But it didn't do it for me.