Ilha Grande

A mildly interesting view on Ilha Grande, a beautiful island on the Rio de Janeiro area with a great variety of animals and plants that kept losing some of its natural beauties after constant human changes and the construction of a prison facility used during the military regime to send political prisoners. While the presidio isn't shown on this film, we follow the locals who survive on the territory working as fisherman, a hard work that provides their sustain but doesn't bring much quality of life.

Jom Tob Azulay's short documentary is a little hard to categorize or have a wide criticism about it as he doesn't offer any insights neither a narration to tell us what's the aim of it all. It's just a series of images from the place, nature, the work of fishermen and at times some locals look at the audience with hard faces, serious expressions, and as for the soundtrack comes a classical piece from Heitor Villa-Lobos. Great cinematography to go along with the spectacle of the island and its beauties, and maybe there's some hints that progress in that place ruined a little of its ecology - but we aren't shown much about destruction or anything similar.

Watchable but doesn't invite us for a deeper reflection on Ilha Grande, it just show what it is and how it was back in the early 1980's. 6/10.