Do Começo ao Fim

Imma kinda out of words to write right now, but anyway the intense heat of the feeling I've just had since the end of movie, which is about ten minutes now, just wants to emerge the word LOVE itself.

You won't find any other explanation for such a heart-devastating flick like this rather than your own personal feelings regarding to your own private desires. If you're into gay interest movies, don't you please, lose the chance of watching it. It is remarkably poetic and stunning. Your heart shall write the final lines for it. You'll get what I mean, once you've reached that point.

LOVE itself is represented in every little second of this movie.

The movie tackles with straight-forward candidness the biggest taboo of western societies: the incest. To top it all off, the relationship happens between two brothers. The movie struck me as extremely poetic, with great cinematography and a LOT of chemistry between the main actors. The love scenes will make you gasp with their intensity and sense of poetry, but the film lacks any real reason d'être.

The main subject in hand, with all of it's richness and subtleties, gets pushed to the side, while some other less interesting plot takes on from half the movie onwards.

I did enjoy the film quite a bit, especially for the ease with which it talks about a very taboo subject.

Oh, and I must mention the main actors are, naturally, extremely hot.

The filmmaker starts off with an intriguing premise. How much would love flourish if we lived in a world uncomplicated by belief systems that thrive on shame and conformity? In my eyes, the filmmaker is a dreamer. Not a realist. And it was refreshing and fascinating to watch as the story unfolded. It was profound.

The story begins with a boy at the age of six who is escorted by a nurse to see his newborn brother. Immediately, the filmmaker is setting up the rules of his idyllic world. And the rules are consistent throughout. The father is nowhere to be seen. In fact, there are no adults other than an impartial nurse who leads the boy to the person who will ultimately be the love of his life.

The six year-old brother looks into his baby brother's eyes through the viewing window and a profound connection is formed. The filmmaker makes his first point. Could this mysterious thing we call love start even before birth? In most of the best love films that I've seen, and I've seen plenty, when two lovebirds meet the love of their life they have that experience of, haven't we met before? Or, I feel like I've known you all my life.

I won't go into the whole story but I was fascinated by the filmmaker's decision to leave as much conflict out of the picture as possible. He showed us hints of potential conflicts but wisely didn't emphasize them. It was a brave choice. Abranches' vision would prefer to keep the boy's perpetually in the womb of their mother. Which is another important theme throughout the story.

Abranches give us a vision of his Garden of Eden before the fall and the Great Conflict. Before Adam hid himself in the bushes when God walked the grounds and he asked Adam, why are you hiding? I'm naked. And God became angry, who told you thou wast naked? What kind of world would that be like? I can only imagine but I caught a glimpse of it up there on the big silver screen. I highly recommend From Beginning to End.

I got this movie out on DVD without knowing too much about it and I was absolutely blown away. It is such a touching and romantic movie. I know it has taboo topics but they are handled so gently and with such acceptance by the film makers and the the characters within the story. It truly moved me in a way a film has never done for me before. It is probably not for everyone due to some of it's taboo content, but honestly, it should be viewed regardless. It is such an exquisite portrayal and will really make you think. I cannot praise this movie more highly. Forget the mind-numbing exploitative offerings of The Hangover or Bridesmaids, and see what great film can accomplish.

Even though the subject matter may repel some, as the film begins it immediately immerses the viewer into the family life of brothers Thomas and Francisco. The film is fearless and daring in many ways as its touches on some very taboo subject matters. It slowly creeps up to you, but once this drama sees the boys as grown men, it takes a very nostalgic mood. There is a very haunting aspect to this film that will leave you lulled and wanting more. There is also a certain amount of sadness eminent from the fantastic performances from Rafael Cardoso and João Gabriel Vasconcellos. Both these men light up the screen, and their chemistry was incendiary with a very fierce dynamic relationship that takes twists and turns in many directions but ultimately leaves you yearning for what was once between them. The film is pretty much about life changes and how some of the best times are hard to let go as mere memories. Both brothers, in their own way, must deal with life's changes and its unexpectedness. Very poetic and always eloquent in its storytelling, dealing with such difficult subject matter was flawlessly handled sensitively in the very capable hands of Aluisio Abranches. Brazil should be proud to have this film. It represents very well the beautiful people of Brazil, their culture and it give you great insight of a culture that is filled with traditions as well as strong family and community ties.

As the movie beautifully unfolds, we explore and observe a relationships and how difficult it can be to let go of the tie that binds.