Bicho de Sete Cabeças

Bicho de sete cabeças is a kick in the gut. Documentary style scenes constitute the skeleton of the movie, and makes the movie approach the status of masterpiece. The acting of Rodrigo Santoro is really good. I've seen him on Abril Despedaçado before, and I can say I see a bright future ahead of this guy. He's handsome and talented. I hope to see such great movies of his in the future. The madman called Ceara in the first mental institution is also showing signs of a PERFECT acting. I've never seen any actor that can act a crazy guy so well before. I was absolutely stunned by his performance! It's really sad how a young man is turned into a wacko by his revolting father's stupid strategies. What's worse is that, he experiences all that just because he doesn't take his father's tyranny, and smokes weed occasionally, like loads of people at his age. And what's even worse is that, this is a real life experience. I'd really like to sit down and have a coffee with that guy one day, and listen to his experiences in his own words. The movie made me want that.

The Brazilian cinema is the rising star of these days, and I sure hope it'll keep up the good work. A country with such a diverse culture, people experiencing extreme incidents in different walks of life, and great filmmaking skills to show those things to us. For this particular film though, I strongly doubt only Brazilian mental institutions are like this. Most likely, several terrible places like that exist all over the world. It's not certain that you're mad if you go there, but as this film depicts, it's almost certain for you to leave mad, if ever. Also make sure to see Abril Despedaçado with the same actor if you can. Brazilian movies rule!

9/10 for this all in all great movie.

Brainstorm aka Bicho de Sete Cabeças (2000) - Seven Heads Animal - an expression that means "a very hard obstacle to fight or a complex thing to do" is also the name of a song written by Arnaldo Antunes, whose songs were used as soundtrack in the movie. His lyrics are great - he is a recognized writer, lyricist and singer in Brazil - and fit perfectly the movie plot and atmosphere, as well as the instrumental part of the songs. The atmosphere is full of darkness and sadness. This is not an easy movie to watch. I can't say much about the plot, but I can tell that it's about the asylum system in Brazil. For you to have a picture of how bad some places were, there is a famous book about one asylum called "Brazilian Holocaust", by Daniela Arbex... The film portrays with an astonishing realism the routine on an asylum with focus on the life of Neto (Rodrigo Santoro). The technical features are great. The locations, the make up, the costume design and the cinematography make the film disturbingly real. In addition to all of this, the acting also helps a lot making the movie believable. Rodrigo Santoro is fantastic in this film. He totally embraced the character and brilliantly showed his behavior changes through the story. The movie seems short when we notice the length, 74 minutes, but the editing is great and helps with the pace. It's not fast nor slow and I really liked it. The editing also helped creating an escalating narrative, with a suffocating climax and a great ending. A very worth watching movie directed by Laís Bodanzky.

a true story about a young man that's put in an asylum by his own father when he founds a pot cigarette on the son's pocket. wonderfully photographed in a documental way, with a camera that's always on movement, this movie has a perfect script, great soundtrack, composed by two of brazil's most talented musicians and absolutely marvelous performances, specially by the lead character, neto, played by Rodrigo Santoro and his friend on the asylum, Ceara. this movie is a must see!!!

Alternative (and artistic said) direction is a tradition among Brazilian movies, and Bicho de Sete Cabeças does not escape from it. The first thing you notice when watching it that the image is not of a very high quality; a cheaper type of film was used. That can be explained by the fact that the movie industry is not very sponsored in Brazil, forcing some cuts on the budget. But that can also be a consequence of the constant fight of Brazilian moviemakers to never do things in the conventional way. That is also noticed on the unusual takes and camera movements.

Normally, that is the exact reason why Brazilian people themselves dislike Brazilian movies. It is rather unpleasant to watch. Some scenes even create a certain dizziness. And for that reason, this alternative direction is a nuisance for the beginning of the movie, where we see Neto living his everyday life. It may not be an ordinary one, but his personal decadence could have been shown using modern filming techniques, that wouldn't create in the audience the feeling that they're watching an amateur movie, something homemade. However, when it comes to the scenes that occur inside the madhouse, this alternative directions fits exactly with the horrible climate that fills the place. It transmits to the audience the point of view of the character; a normal person who's under the effect of heavy drugs and is surrounded by mad people. That uncommon filming enters the audience mind, as if they were there, living that situation. It makes them feel uncomfortable, but that's the purpose.

The poison for some is the balm for others. So the lesson here is that nations should exchange their techniques and use them to best fit their movie, instead of keeping fighting against what is foreigner.

Shocking. This is how I felt when watching this movie. It is a raw picture of the mental institutions system of Brazil and the ignorance by the parents and relatives about dealing with the subject of drugs. Is the act of putting someone in public mental institution the best solution or the easiest ? The madness of our society leads the family to take the easiest solutions instead of giving love. Medicine instead of friendship. This astonishing movie shows us all these kind of conflicts. Conducted by a fantastic music composed by Arnaldo Antunes.