Paranóia

OK, it's not a gem or an unforgettable story, but at least provides some good tension. A wealthy family is attacked by a group of human monsters in a Sao Paulo suburbia. They rape the sexually unsatisfied housewife and turn everybody's life into a mess. The plot is not unique (Desperate hours has two American versions and we can't forget the German Funny Games, which has the same story), but the movie has something brutal and funny that called my attention. Worth seeing.

"Paranoia" is one of the dumbest and most absurd hostage flicks ever made, and also another bad example from the lame harvest of films that dominated the Brazilian scene in the 1970's with its mix of sex, gratuitous nudity and crime. Nothing against that description, but in that period and onwards, the ammount of exploitative scenarios that were done to bring excitment in audiences and nothing else in return just makes those kind of flicks look silly and highly controversial today.

It's a basic copy of "Desperate Hours" with a rich family taken hostage by a group of hard-boiled criminals who demand a large sum of money.

Businessman Marcello (Anselmo Duarte), wife (Norma Bengell) and their teenager kids (Lucélia Santos, in her film debut, and Bruno Barroso), and the maids and caretakers of the mansion are held at gun point and knife by the group led by eternal performer of Red Light Bandit, Paulo Villaça.

Awaiting for the bank to open in order to get the millions of dollars, the bad guys enjoy themselves with sadistic games on the women of the house, or some violent act against the men who try to stop them.

But if there's a curious device used here was the rich man's wife. We're informed from the start that she's suffering a nervous breakdown of sorts as she believes she isn't loved enough by her man and she has a constant nightmare of being drowned (moments for the director show the lady's boobs). This isn't a case of a perfect hostage, she's a time bomb destined to explode at any given moment and it's a little easy to predict that she'll volunteer for a sexual act with one of the bad guys, rather than the abuse that others will suffer. A crazed moment of liberation and relief and you probably seen this cliche before.

Ultimately, the problem of "Paranoia" comes from its dull cliches, poor dialogues and terrible action scenes, and the little tension given isn't enough to make you compelled about it. Add to the equation a series of idiotic moments (in what world a paperboy enters a home to deliver a paper? Can't they ring a bell or just throw the paper on the lawn?), a few holes and a bizarre resolution, and there's nothing much to admire. Duarte, Bengell and Villaça have some honorable moments, just as Nuno Leal Maia as the youngest bandit. Lucélia Santos and her terrified screaming were laughable, it doesn't feel like she's being hurt or attacked, it's more like she stepped on a Lego.

And I wonder how come an intelligent and articulate man like Carlos Heitor Cony wrote something weird and weak as that. For those who don't know (or remember) he was a known journalist/commentator in many newspapers and networks, with some brief moments working as a screenwriter. There's no social criticism about the city of São Paulo, its characters or the social contrast between rich and poor, and an underdeveloped take on severe depression. In the end, it's one of those films that thrills and excite audiences by showing many reprehensible moments. It's all cheap and of bad taste. 5/10.