Carandiru

'Carandiru' is a mess, not just the blood flowing over the steps of the infamous São Paulo prison that was razed after a prisoner riot and slaughter in 1992. In 145 minutes, Hector Babenco ('Pixote,' 'Kiss of the Spider Woman') has too many episodes about different inmates that only tangentially and sometimes superficially relate to the central subject of AIDS prevention; frequently they are standard flashbacks to what the prisoners did to merit incarceration. A secondary and successful purpose is to reveal a highly structured prisoner society where justice is swift and not always wrong, where the only mistake is to give in to the civilian authority, at which point any freedoms are lost. Despite the crowded and unsanitary conditions, inmates are usually safer and healthier inside rather than out. The story is told mainly from a prison doctor's point of view as he interviews the inmates for AIDS screening and hears about their lives. Although he is way too happy in his work, he represents a humanistic attitude lacking in the prison officials and the world outside. Homosexuality, while appropriate for any prison tale, seems to dominate the entire long movie (145 minutes) and throw into relief the director/ writer's interest in the subject that began at least in 'Kiss.' One of the most affecting scenes is the marriage of a devoted, physically mismatched couple and the subsequent attempt by the smaller 'husband' to protect his bride. Babenco and the actors manage to relay dignity and gravity in a situation that could be laughable if not at least clichéd. Babenco was inspired to write this screenplay by a doctor who saved his life, a doctor who wrote about his experiences in this prison in 'Carandiru Station.' Although HBO's 'Oz' prison series was more insightful, no account could be as loving and socially concerned. Famous prisoner Oscar Wilde wrote in 'De Profundis,' 'A day in prison on which one does not weep is a day on which one's heart is hard, not a day on which one's heart is happy.' Babenco caught the hard sadness of prison life in 'Carandiru.'

Carandiru is the true story of the greatest massacre of prisoners in the world. It happened in 1992, in São Paulo, after a rebellion in the greatest Brazilian penitentiary. Doctor Drauzio Varella has written a successful best-seller about this sad event. The great Brazilian naturalized director Hector Babenco (from `Pixote', `Kiss of the Spider Woman', `Lúcio Flávio' etc.), with the support of a fantastic cast, presented a good movie about this wound in our society. The screenplay presents some personal dramas of some prisoners before the invasion of the prison by the Military Police and execution of one hundred and eleven (111) prisoners. The double Brazilian DVD is magnificent:, presenting not only the usual making-of, interviews, deleted scenes and errors, but also the TV News in 1992 after the slaughter. My vote is eight.

Carandiru is a true hymn of humanity in all of us. What let the Brazilian riot squad shoot down over a hundred inmates was that following both prejudice and the professional drilling they had been subjected to, they regarded the rioters of 1992 as nothing but worthless scum. Bebenco does not defend his characters. Based on the eyewitness account of the prison physician, he presents us with assassins, murderers, robbers and drug-dealers who do not even claim they do not deserve their sentences (although many were kept in prison without convictions). What made them human was their continuous contact with the world outside. The visitation day scene is a memorable tribute to life in a truly Christian sense - everyone deserves to live and to hope not because of his own qualities or deeds, but because of the love others share for him. The character of the serial killer Dagger was essential to this purpose. His solitude in the midst of the modest pleasures of everybody else visited by his close ones was the first sign of the overcoming guilt which eventually took him to the preacher. Let this review not be understood as if the movie pursues to proselytize the viewers; I hope not to be too cynical to say that its prime purpose is to rejoice - to rejoice with the great diversity of human characters to whom Dr Varella and H. Bebenco paid their tribute.

I saw Carandiru after seeing Takeshi Kitanos "Zatoichi" at the Toronto Film

Festival. Let me tell you, my day was full of carnage but it's OK because both movies were very good. The director was there as well as an actor or two if I remember correctly, they spoke about the film with true passion which added to the essence of the final product. It opend my eyes to an event that I never knew of. Highness was a great charater, Graca was my favorite, he should learn

english and get into the indie scene in North America. Good film 7\10.

Despite what some reviews and reviewers state, Carandiru is, for the large part, gloriously human and humane, without ever resorting to mawkish sentimentality. The story is based on a real event and when I saw it on TV some years ago and I so much wanted to see it again, I bought the DVD, now cheap.

Yes, these characters are a handful of long-term convicts in one of largest prisons in the world - 7000 of them, in one (in San Pualo, Brazil), that's designed for 'only' 4,000 and we are introduced to them and their frank, matter-of-fact lives as they describe their drug and sex life 'inside' to the wonderfully open and compassionate doctor ( Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos). It's from his perspective as, part of his training, he's thrown into the deep end as he tries to treat and educate prisoners about AIDS.

Amongst the knowing humour, there are tales of anguish, violence and heartache with the main character's stories being run as flashbacks. Most of the crime is petty but circumstance and poverty has dumped most of these damaged people into one huge melting pot, of squalor, STD's and drugs. One finds it surprisingly easy to be open and impartial about situations that could make your toes curl.

Despite the vivid colours used and the Latin music that gets played in and amongst this tapestry of a human jigsaw, where few of the pieces fit, mounting signs reveal an underbelly of unrest, a pressure-cooker that's about to boil over and when it does and armed police march in, the film turns dark, angry and really hits the viewer. I won't say why, though the closing epilogues do (very) partially redress some of what went on.

This is essential Brazilian drama. Gritty, hard-hitting, yes but if you've got the stomach for the excellent City of God, you'll have no trouble here. Buy it, watch it, you'll feel like a proper human being, I promise you.