Carandiru

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.

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.

As a Brazilian, I saw on TV many of the things that happened inside Carandiru, the biggest jail in Brazil and maybe the biggest in Latin America. I can clearly remember the news where we saw the police invasion and the slaughter they made there instead of stopping the prisoners rebellion

I knew this fact would be shown in Hector Babenco's film, but I could never imagine it would be so strongly illustrated. It's pure violence and the audience gets really astonished. Although it's really sad and we can't avoid being sorry for those deaths and suffering, it's impossible not to like the movie. It's excellent.

It's important to say that the invasion is not the only fact that is shown. Actually the book is based in Drauzio Varela's book. Mr. Varela is a doctor who worked in the jail helping the prisoners. The book, that is called "Estação Carandiru" (Carandiru station - because of the underground station that is nearby) is a success in Brazil.

27-year-old Rodrigo Santoro is one of the best actors we have in Brazil nowadays. His talent on Brazilian TV Series have guaranteed him good roles in films made in the country and recently he has started an international career, once he'll be in "Charlie's Angels 2". Some other good actors like Milton Gonçalves and Caio Blat add more positive points to the production. Some others, unknown up to now, showed they'll probably have much success in the future due to their talent, like Lázaro Ramos.

Argentinean Hector Babenco directed 'Carandiru' with a great sense of art, talent and made his film probably the best one of Brazilian cinema this year.

My rate 10/10

One could easily get the wrong impression of the storyline here. Yes, it is based on the true-life massacre at the Brazilian prison in 1992 BUT that story is only shown in the last 30 minutes of this 145-miniute film.

The movie is really about the people who inhabited that prison back in that time. There are short profiles of numerous criminals, told through the eyes mainly of a doctor who is sent there. AIDs was a major problem in the jail. The doctor treats a lot of people who then tell him stories how they got to be inmates at Carandiru. In addition, there are bunch of scenes in which the inmates interact among themselves, shown as everything from antagonists to lovers.

Make no mistake: some of the stories are sordid, but its not as unpleasant to watch as one might think because the characters and the film-making are very interesting. The storyline moves fast, which is important considering the length of this film.

A viewer could even stop the movie at several points, pick up later without losing much since the story unfolds in segments. The ending (the massacre) really comes on suddenly. Unlike most movies,the story doesn't build up to the climax, here it just appears out of nowhere.

The same director who did the more-famous "City of God" filmed this and many critics here say it's not in the same league, but I thought it was at least in the same ballpark Both are entertaining, and most of us watch films to be entertained. So, if you liked ""City Of God," give this one a look as well.

Let's get things straight here, if you were drawn to this film due its comparisons to the equally magnificent City of God, you're going to be surprised. Aside from the fact that its a Brazilian film about criminals, there are few similarities. While City of God was an epic story of life in the slums of Rio De Janeiro, Carandiru is about much older criminals and the days leading up to the infamous Carandiru prison massacre.

However, this is not the non-stop assault on the senses of grim violence you might expect. In fact, only the last twenty minutes or so of the film deal with the massacre at all and the film instead concentrates on a much more human aspect to the carnage. Focusing on the character of the Doctor as he tries to raise awareness of AIDs in the prison, it revolves around his day to day life as he chats casually with the inmates, learning of their hopes, fears and more often than not, their reason for being in the prison in the first place. These are stories that range from sad, to touching to outright hilarity and you soon find yourself absorbed in this world of offbeat criminals, so much so that when the violence does erupt, it is all the more shocking for it.

There are differences to the normal, US prison drama as well. I'm not sure how the Brazilians run their penitentiaries, but here there are no uniforms and they are allowed many of the comforts of home, along with free reign of the prison yard. But these are still drab conditions, with multiple inmates crammed into a single room, sweltering in the intense heat of the tropical summer. And ultimately, the prison is a community, made of genuine individuals, rather than clear cut prison stereotypes. This is a masterful film, one of my top movies of all time.