Yo, Tú, Ellos

On the face of it, the simple plot of the film would not seem enough to sustain the audience's interest. Darlene, an imposing young woman with an illegitimate child, returns to her home in the outback of the Bahia region of Brazil. There she marries an older man, has his child, then takes up with two other men and has children with them as well, all of them living together on the edge of poverty. The powerful acting, a hauntingly beautiful visual style, a landscape both harsh and lovely all make this a cinematic treasure in which one's attention never flags for a moment. It is a film which continues to resonate weeks after seeing it. I look forward to seeing it again and again.

Forget the Washington Post Critics. Probably done by someone who lacks many kinds of empathy to truly understands the complexity inside and around the life of a women in most poor areas in Brazil. Regina Case is outstanding in this role. Any women who has faced any difficult situation and suffered due to a patriarchal and unequal society will understand the pace of the film and the subtle behavior of this woman in finding ways to reduce the burden of being a woman and a mother.

This film portrays the life of the Brazilian poor in the arid interior, and that life is hard. You take your pleasures where and when you can. Regina Case gives a vivid performance as the polyamorous wife-lover; she is no more "ugly" than Frances McDormand, Maggie Smith or a host of other actresses who don't do Vogue covers. Gilberto Gil's music is very evocative, it's like an actor in the story.

Finally, I want to praise Lima Duarte's performance as the husband; he knows life is passing him by and death is approaching, so he doesn't let Darlene's sexual habits bother him. It is a very expressive star turn in the Philippe Noiret tradition.

This is a beautifully directed and photographed tale of a Brazilian countrywoman who, in a reversal of the traditional sexual roles, maintains relationships, and has babies, with several men. In Hollywood this plotline might have resulted in a sleazy drama or zany farce, but director Andrucha Waddington has wisely chosen to follow a realist path, and create a warm, human comedy, about believable characters, set in simple interiors and the arid landscape of interior Bahia.

Another difference from a hypothetical Hollywood version is that the characters largely lack conventional glamour. Regina Casé, who plays the heroine, Darlene, is distinctly homely; her legal husband who ignores her while she gets on with managing his smallholding and cutting sugar cane, and his more affectionate cousin whom she takes as a lover, are both older men. Only Ciro (Luis Carlos Vasconcelos), the young man she later turns to, has obvious physical attraction.

On occasion the realism turns a little magical, under the influence of the surrealistic wide, open vistas and long, empty roads, but Waddington plays down any metaphysical elements. Nor is the movie a social tract, though Regina - knowingly or unknowingly - is asserting her right to live her own life and seek happiness where she can, just like consciously feminist women in the wider world. In the tradition of humanist films, there is an open ending, which may or may not be happy - again, unlike Hollywood.

Wonderful film. There really is much to love about this film, but the it's strength begins with the realistic, multidimensional performances by Regina Case, Lima Duarte and Stenio Garcia. For every spoken word, their body language and expressions convey countless unspokes desires, emotions, and conflicts. The script is well grounded with very little in the way of broad farcical humor or weepy melodrama. By pushing realism in the dialogue, direction and performances, the characters are rendered with more complexity. More humanity. They aren't reduced to being the romanticized 'noble poor' ciphers present in many films about poor people. Here, there are no saints or devils, only achingly real people doing their best to strike an agreeable accord with life. Even the cinematography serves this goal. This film is packed with beautiful imagery, but at the same time, it never devolves into being a travelogue. Instead the arrid terrain, populated with knarled cashew trees and swept with dust provides an understanding of how the characters find themselves amidst such an arrangement. Some have said this film is a disservice to women, because Darlene has to use sex to gain what she wants and needs. This I think is a pathetic attempt to further an agenda without even really considering the merit of the film itself. Darlene is a woman without many options. In order to fashion a semblance of a happy life, she uses guile, intelligence, charm and strategy to manipulate her fate. Sex just happens to be a tool at her disposal, and in Ciro, she finds a lover who even provides for her sexual needs. She sounds like a strong, self-realized woman to me. Were her character born middle class, I have no doubt she'd go far. Understanding this bit of social commentary only adds to my respect for this film because like other elements present, it's never heavy handed. Overall, I give 'Me You Them' 9 of 10. Of the films I saw in 2001, it ranks only after 'the Circle' as my favorite. Touching, funny, sublimely well balanced and intelligent, I'm hoping Andrucha Waddington makes more films of this caliber..............