Chatô: O Rei do Brasil

Mr. Chateaubriand, in real life, could not have been worse than Citizen Chateaubriand as shown in this pseudo-biography supposedly based on a biographical bestseller. Biographer Morais did win his credit, but the biopic is only a nil-biog minor-pix that has nearly nothing to do with facts, except a few characters such as Chatô and Getulio Vargas. While Welles' Citizen Kane showed an à-clef W.R. Hearst more sympathetic than the real-life press magnate, "Chatô the King of Brazil" shows a psychopath, an unlikely sexpot, a lying bastard, a provincial Machiavelli, without even bothering to explain how he ever became a multimillionaire tycoon. This film was shot by the end of the last century and finished in 2015 only thanks to the money newly invested by Francis Coppola. Its script is barely unintelligible to any viewer of any nationality, both high-brow and low-brow. There is no commitment whatsoever with historical reality. Not even the dictator Vargas, in real life, was the s-o-b herein played by Paulo Betti. Everything amounts to sheer mystification, from talent to entertainment value: Fiat Lux became 'Fioluz,' Coca Cola became 'Soda Cola,' and Vivi Sampaio simply never existed in real life. Doris Monteiro, however, did exist (the part's name was changed à clef), she was at the center of a scandal that exemplified major abuse of power: Chateaubriand decided to elect Doris, then his mistress, the 'Queen of the Radio.' He called his treasurer and gave him an order: "Get Cr$5,000,000 right now!" The treasurer managed to extort the money from advertisers and Doris eventually got 875,605 votes! This is perhaps one of the few links with reality in a movie so delirious and poorly photographed, which hollowly falsifies history in a free, self- indulgent and pretentious way.

If you want to know more about Brazilian history, this film is not a good choice, as it has no commitment to historical facts, although inspired in real characters and events such as Brazilian "citizen Kane" Assis Chateaubriand and former president Getúlio Vargas. Though, if you like innovative movies which play with the different possibilities to tell a story on the big screen, then "Chatô" is an awesome opportunity! It is a very interesting piece of funny magical realism with some traits of surrealism, reminding me top directors such as Terry Gilliam and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. While the former Monty Python member has a crazier approach and the French moviemaker's approach is sweeter, Guilherme Fontes shows a more aggressive and sensual one. Overacting is a conscious and successful choice of him, composing a fable of a major and polemic character. The story is not linear, as many events may happen only in his mind, inside his dreams or perhaps in an alternative reality. Some of the top Brazilian actors have been casted and it was important to keep the film's high quality in spite of its campiness. The movie could receive an even better grade if it were a bit shorter and kept the same pace throughout it, as it tires a little at some point. Besides its quality, the film also interests because of its troubled production. Brazilian actor Guilherme Fontes kept public funding 20 years before in order to direct his very first movie, but he got broken and people thought the film would never be finished and that he would be put in jail. He still faces court proceedings trying not to pay the money back. In the final credits, Fontes complains of having suffered censorship, what is obviously not the case. Anyway, the movie has finally been released and that is very good news for Brazilian cinema.

You forgot the name of the actor Alexandre Regis in the cast of the film.