Estômago

I saw the movie at the ninth edition of the Rio International Film Festival. Estômago, a Gastronomic Story, wins four awards at Latin America's largest movie showcase. It's about Nonato (João Miguel), who immigrant from the northeast to the south of Brazil and becomes a talented cook. He uses his talent to get a better life and to get the attention of a a voracious and beautiful prostitute Iri (Fabiola Nascimento) The official jury gave "Estomago" a special jury prize as well as awards for best director and best actor (Joao Miguel). The Brazil-Italy co-production also took home the audience award. "Estomago" centers on a talented cook who aims to use his culinary skills to gain power and love.

This movie could've easily flown under my radar if not for Adam from YMS' recommendation, so big shoutout to him.

I was pleasently surprised by this movie, it had a lot of things that kept me interested. For one, the performances were very good, everyone seemed invested in their characters and the language barrier wasn't a huge deal to me. The sequence of events felt either believable or fitting given the movie's tone. It was quite funny, I laughed quite a few times and they were all intentional laughs. Even if some would find the female lead actor's role morally questionable, the movie still felt aware of its ridiculous premise.

There were two things that stood out to me: Firstly, out of all the performances, João Miguel's was terrific and also ambitious, with the tone being both comedic and serious, the role needed someone with enough range to pull it off, and I'm glad that he managed to do exactly that. His performance was so colorful, so nuanced, and he truly immersed himself into the character.

Secondly, Giovanni Venosta's score was well composed and it fit the film perfectly. It was also used exactly when it needed to be, and it always conveyed the tone which the movie's going for and it never felt agressive.

Visually, this movie was perfectly fine. There were some points where the shots felt motivated but lacked in execution, but nothing stood out as being poorly shot. And it's cool that compared to the other elements of the film, there wasn't such a dip in quality. Also, the ending/resolution of this film is one of the most hilarious yet messed up scenes that could've happened in this movie. I can't stop laughing at it, it was so awesome.

Anyway, good movie. Highly recommended.

There are few movies out there that I will take the time to watch a second time, and even fewer movies that make me sincerely chuckle at some scenes. Estomago was one of those movies for me. It's not well known outside the borders of Brazil, but if you're looking for some good Brazilian dark comedies, this one is one of the better ones alongside O Cheiro do Ralo. I won't go into the details of the plot, but suffice it to say, it's a fun watch for those who like revenge fantasies and messed-up characters from the fringes of society who diabolically plot revenge in clever ways. Repeat after me: "Nonato CANIVETE!" One of my favourites of many good bits in this fun-to-watch film.

One of the best movies about food ever made (together with Babette's feast), and also an amazing prision film, Estômago (Stomach) has awesome actors and direction, competebt cinematography, and an absolutely perfect script. Everything works, fits, attracts, entertains, captivates. Characters are solid and unique, situations are remarkable but credible. You may laugh some times, be surprised in other moments, but you never get bored. A true masterwork of Brazilian contemporary cinema.

This movie is worth it just for the camera work. There are so many scenes that just grab your emotions by the throat and jerk them around with how strong the image is. The camera captures trivial moments with such detail and delightful symphony that these details become overwhelming to the enchanted viewer.

The story is not really amazing or surprising, but the movie does a great job of making that irrelevant. It's a character movie that allows you to see how food moves a main character in its relations with the world. This main character, albeit simple, never ceases to surprise us with the quirky way he sees the world. Add a little bit of food magic, and you've got this movie wrapped up.

A simple thing, yet a joy to watch.