O Que é Isso, Companheiro?

This is a truly passionate film about young men and women who fight for ideals that they believe in.

A Brazillian rebel group has kidnapped the American ambassador for Brazil, and demands that fifteen jailed political prisoners be let free. This leads to some tense sequences with Fernando, the most intelligent and cowardly of the kidnappers, and the ambassador (played brilliantly by Alan Arkin).

This could have become a routine thriller. It isn't due to it's intelligence and passion. A very worthwhile movie.

** Even if you're turned off by the idea of subtitles, don't worry. There is a lot of English.

In 1964, the military deposes the democratically elected Brazilian government. By 1969, the military has imposed a police state. Friends Fernando Gabeira and César decide to fight back by joining revolutionaries. The group MR8 is led by Maria. César is captured during a bank robbery. Fernando comes up with the plan to kidnap the American Ambassador Charles Burke Elbrick (Alan Arkin). They seek to exchange him for 15 prisoners.

I like the mix of characters in the revolutionary group. Each character is well defined and fully complete. It's not that much of a thriller despite a few action scenes. It has some psychological aspects. It's really the interactions within the group and with Alan Arkin that is the most interesting.

I didn't learn any Portuguese, but from this movie I learned a bit about Brazil, though "Four Days" is mostly in Portuguese. (I have a hard enough time with Spanish, thanks.) This film offers insight into a part of South American politics that I frankly have little knowledge of and I didn't follow at the time (I mean, the parts in the movie's epilogue during which I was alive and aware), and for that alone it is worth watching. Even if you don't care, the movie will bring it to light so you can imagine the Brazil of the 1960s and you just might care that you learned something about it.

"Four Days" manages to carry the viewer through to the 1989 end of the military regime in its epilogue. The Soviet Bloc was falling apart at about the same time, the Berlin Wall, if I recall, came down that year, so I suppose many would have missed this interesting ploy for attention by revolutionaries for that reason (which I certainly admit to, having following the Soviet departure steadily and having no idea about this Brazilian event).

The movie is a telling of when eager Brazilian Communist-leftist revolutionaries, both innocent and veteran, take the U.S. Ambassador hostage to draw the attention of the world toward Brazil, and to challenge the Brazilian powers they hope to overthrow ultimately, with demands for releasing their compatriots. I thought it was a convincing movie, though coming up short on making the characters particularly compelling. But then, the event was the focus, not the characters. Alan Arkin was terrific. So was the actor who played the central character, the young, not too tough, glasses-wearing Fernando.

The show didn't hide behind the revolutionaries, either. We saw things from the other side, too. It was believable, and I really enjoyed the handling of both sides of the coin in this real-life drama. There was a smoothly presented bit with a regime torturer and his girlfriend (wife?), where he suddenly admits to her what he does for the government. He'd claimed he was doing something much milder for some time, and finally outs himself as a member of the secret service. He rationalizes his torturing college kids to prevent a breakdown of Brazilian society, almost convincingly, but his lady doesn't buy it, and neither should the audience. The scene was meant to put a human face on the bad guy, and did it reasonably, but we also get that his

rationalizing leaves even him a bit flat, as he tries to embrace his woman when she turns away from him in distaste.

Most of the film is spoken in Portuguese, and I didn't mind reading this movie a bit. (It's when a movie that wouldn't be enjoyable in any language that I mind reading my way through it.) This is a movie worth seeing for its attention to a daring moment in Brazil's move toward democracy. And even if you don't care about that, it is a terrific suspense film.

"Four Days in September" is a film that most here in the United States know nothing about--even though the film is a recreation of the real life kidnapping of the US ambassador to Brazil back in, 1971. Frankly, here in the States, we know very little about the country and many people I know think they speak Spanish there! It's sad and those who DO know a bit about the country get it from films like "City of God"! Because I am a history teacher, I was thrilled to learn more about the political turmoil in Brazil in the 1970s and their military dictatorship--as, I hate to admit it, my knowledge of the country is lacking. And, for me, the most surprising thing about the film was to learn that this government was in place all the way until 1989! Wow.

As for the film, it's a recreation of the evens leading to and following the abduction of the American ambassador--with a strong emphasis on the motivations and reactions of the younger members of this Communist group, MR8. Aside from a case of very capable Brazilian actors, American actor Alan Arkin is on hand as the ambassador. Overall, the film is excellent for many reasons. The script and direction are very good (without a lot of politics and without a strong bias) and the acting very good. In fact, I have no real complaints about the film, though I wonder about the further adventures of MR8--the film really had me wonder about the decades following this kidnapping.

By the way, though the film is about communist revolutionaries, the film is handled in a relatively dispassionate way and can be enjoyed by anyone regardless of their political orientation. It did seem to paint these leftists somewhat favorably, but not in a manner that seemed overly sentimental or biased. Plus, it did show the characters on the right as well--a smart move in the long run. Well worth seeing.

"Four Days in September" examines the 1969 politically motivated kidnapping of the U.S. ambassador to Brazil. The Oscar nominated film is a realistic and believable dissection of the short lived international incident perpetrated by a small group of leftist extremists opposed to Brazil's military dictatorship. Unlike most such films, "Four Days..." puts a realistic and human face on all sides; the police, the rebels, and the American diplomat played by Arkin. A captivating, suspenseful drama in Portugese and English languages for realists.