A Hora Marcada

When you watch a Brazilian movie, you really don't know what to expect. Gracindo Júnior and Osmar Prado are just perfect and the direction is really good, altough there are some holes on the script.

The story is about mean man who meets a woman and she tells him he's going to die seven years later. When that day comes, he gets kidnapped by a former employee who has been arrested after trying to cheat on him. In the hideout, the mysterious woman shows up again and he realizes that she's probably Death itself. Now he has to deal with the kidnappers and death.

Humor, action and sensuality are also well employed by Marcelo Taranto on this movie. Note: this is his first motion picture.

Mário Velasquez (Gracindo Júnior) is a powerful, successful and wealthy businessman, having a ruined marriage with Gabi (Estér Goes). In a fancy party, he meets a mysterious woman, who advises him that his is precisely going to die in seven years from that day. In the scheduled date, he is kidnapped by a gang leaded by his former employer Peçanha (Osmar Prado), who had defalcated his company and was sent to the prison in the past. While arrested, Mário tries to negotiate his own life, when the mysterious woman comes again to discuss with him. Although having a great performance of Gracindo Júnior and Osmar Prado, and a reasonable direction of Marcelo Taranto, the screenplay of 'A Hora Marcada' is full of flaws. Firstly, there are many characters that are not well developed, and the first line happens only after 5:32 min running time. The character of the mysterious woman is not well explained: if she is Ms. Death herself, she is physical, since she drinks champagne with him in the bar, being served by the bartender. Why did she predict and advised Mário about the day of his death? However, the personality of Mário Velasquez and the motives of Osmar Peçanha are very clear and make this movie a reasonable mystery tale of revenge. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): 'A Hora Marcada' ('The Scheduled Hour')