Linha de Passe

Walter Salles and his longtime partner Daniela Thomas come at their best with 'Linha de Passe'. After shooting Dark Water (which I haven't seen but only heard bad things about it) and the predictable Motorcycle Diaries, Salles focused on his best ability: showing the real Brazil to the world and - even more important - to Brazilians themselves. The acting is so accurate that sometimes the movie looks like a documentary about people who strive to have a decent life despite living in a poor suburb in São Paulo. Not only Sandra Corleoni - who won the Palme d'Or - is brilliant, but nearly everyone, even the characters who are not so much in evidence. I would say that this the movie captures the contradictions of the urban Brazil in such a profound way that it leaves you with little else to talk about the subject. Although each character kind of represents a particular stereotype of Brazilian people, there's so much subtlety in each of them (because of the screenplay and the acting) that the plot sounds completely natural, which doesn't happen with 'Crash', the awarded American movie that 'Linha de Passe' reminds me of. In my opinion, Salles' masterpiece is still 'Behind the Sun' (Abril Despedaçado), but if a foreigner asked me to explain what's to be Brazilian, i would suggest him to watch this movie.

In the periphery of São Paulo, the pregnant single mother Cleuza (Sandra Corveloni) works as maid in the apartment of a middle-class family. Each of her sons has a different unknown father: the oldest, Dênis (João Baldasserini), has a baby son that lives with his mother and he works as motorcycle courier; Dinho (José Geraldo Rodrigues) is Christian converted and works as attendant in a gas station; Dario (Vinícius de Oliveira) is an aspirant soccer player that is getting older without the expected chance in a team; and the youngest, Reginaldo (Kaique Jesus Santos), is obsessed to find his black father that works as a bus driver, and spends most of his spare time traveling by bus. Along the months, each brother experiences new deceptions and expectations while the family fights to survive.

"Linha de Passe" is an overrated tale about the invisible people that live in the periphery of big cities. The characters are very realistic, but the screenplay and the edition have many cuts, and the development of the characters is very confused in the beginning. The movie also uses unnecessary footages of the Corinthians soccer team that has the second largest legion of fans in Brazil after Flamengo, maybe with the intention of increasing the box office in São Paulo. The acting is top-notch and Vinícius de Oliveira is indeed a good soccer player. The inconclusive open end is deceptive – the writers could have written a non-corny conclusion, for the good or for the bad of the characters. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Linha de Passe"

I haven't many comments to add, but something I really noticed in this good movie is that Walter Salles got a lot of inspiration, specially camera takes and editing, by Alejandro G. Iñarritu, not to mention the instrumental background music. The tone of Salles movies remains focused in the hope and good heart of the poorest despite deep unfairness of Brazillian society. Unfortunately, we do not watch good actor Vinicius Oliveira acting more often. The "moto boys" were admirably portrayed as well as the church followers. By the way, Corinthians, the football team supported by The Mother indeed went to 2nd. division in real life, as she worried at the beginning of the movie.

Linha de Passe (2008) tells the story of 5 characters whose lives connect naturally, because they are a family. Cleuza is pregnant and is a single mother of four sons: Dênis, Dario, Dinho and Reginaldo. Their stories are very interesting, well thought out and relate in a great way. Besides, it has a smart writing, an escalation in the narrative... Through this 5 stories, George Moura and Daniela Thomas explore many important social issues in Brazil, such as poverty, unemployment and inequality in an entertaining way. The realism in the screenplay and in other aspects I'm gonna mention, add to this movie a strong documentary appeal. The lines are fantastic.

What reinforces realism the most is the set, with many real locations, the costume design, make up and the acting. It's not by chance that Sandra Corveloni (Cleuza) won the Cannes Film Festival (2008) Best Actress prize. She is brilliant in Linha de Passe, with a very believable acting and an amazing chemistry with the boys, as if she was really their mother.

João Baldasserini is very charismatic as Dênis; Vinícius de Oliveira owns every Dario scene, he is very natural; Geraldo Rodrigues nailed in portraying somebody who passes through a roller coaster of feelings, like Dinho does and Kaique Jesus Santos stealed the attention with his sarcasm and irony as Reginaldo. One of the best child actings I've ever seen.

In addition to all of this there are the perfectly simple and beautiful Gustavo Santaolalla scores; Mauro Pinheiro Jr. Clever cinematography, that utilizes the city light and Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas sensitive shots.

Everything named contributed to a very worth watching drama that, unfortunately, still represents a lot Brazil.

More than a movie, Linha de Passe is a study about the moral and ethical dilemmas that young people from Brazilian suburbs of big cities face on a daily life. It is a film much more rich and complex than it seems. By the apparent simplicity and fragmented structure, should not have the same impact of the Brazilian Central and the Motorcycle Diaries, Walter Salles recent productions.

The Cannes Film Festival confirmed the film to grant him the Golden Palm for best actress to Sandra Corvelloni, single mother of four children, maid and resident of Sao Paulo suburbs. The family, by leaps and bounds, struggling to survive in the metropolis. The oldest is Motorcycle courier, Dinho works in a gas station, Dario wants to be a soccer player and youngest Reginaldo, in brilliant interpretation, is obsessed by her father unknown.

The script, written by Daniela Thomas, Bráulio Mantovani and George Moura, gives an account of five characters who have to kill a lion a day and are faced with ethical dilemmas at every turn, choosing between them to deliver anything goes or to remain in line.