Besouro

It is so weird that this movie has such a low score on imdb and that so few people seen this. For some reason this movie has the attention of action-fighting movie enthusiasts, because people capoeira is martial arts. Truth is capoeira is part of Brazil's history to the deepest roots of black people. Capoeira is a philosophy of self-defence, communal responsibility, and defiance against white colonialism. That is what this movie is about. Besouro is a hero from Brazilian history, not simply a character. Capoeira is not MMA, capoeira is black resistance and knowledge. Capoeira is Exu, is Zé Pilintra, Capoeira is Zumbi, is mestre Bimba, capoeira is Besouro. Educate yourselves with this brilliant movie.

The film is based on the true story of a capoeirista nicknamed Besouro. The action scenes and the story are very much based on old Chinese movies and the movie has that feel to it.

It is a great film, with many African religious elements and shows a racism that unfortunately still exists in Brazil.

The film have made it. Brazilian movies despite stills on public money have found a new language. The photography is good, lots of action, likely the cricket on KungFu , some Italian-Mexican western spice. Fun and popcorn guaranteed. Capoeira fight is the motto in an earlier 20th century Brazil, fighting for civil rights among the black community. Rather than well known actors the film introduces a cast of newly ones, absolutely being granted to a higher ground. Location in the open nature satisfies the public viewer by giving cascades, rivers, forests. Wow thats really tuff having the responsibility of writing about something specially movies. Now i have the taste of being a reviewer it is no easy thing.

Although filmed with a sort of contemporary touch in aesthetics and camera works this film is a let down. The character never seem to capture the viewer who is simply rambling through the cliché far-fetched kind of plans. It seems to try to compensate in aesthetic exacerbation what it lacks in simplicity and dramatic quality. It comes out as a hard to develop kind of thing and it simply doesn't take advantage of so many possibilities left to explore, from the actual roots of capoeira, to the potential in most of the characters. The characters are also a bunch of stereotypical sketch and never leave that numb state to let out some actual personality. Everyone just goes where they're expected to go and do what they are supposed to do. That's nothing else than lack of inventiveness and failure to capture the essence of smaller and less obvious connections. Not totally a waste of time, but almost. Not recommended.

Can it really have been more than two decades since ONLY THE STRONG was released? Since then, capoeira has firmly cemented itself into the martial arts scene, especially in film, but while there has been no shortage of kickboxing and MMA flicks since then, I don't believe that any movie between 1993 and 2009's BESOURO has exclusively highlighted the art. Disappointingly, we may need to wait even longer for a genuinely good capoeira vehicle, because while this Brazilian-made film is about as legitimate as it can be, it falls victim to some crazy creative decisions and damaging false advertising.

The story: Following the murder of a capoeira master and community leader in a 1920s Bahia town, his best student (Ailton Carmo) receives a revelation to fight against the oppressors of the Afro-Brazilian community.

All covers to the film that I have seen seem to indicate that this is a martial arts action movie, but it's best to know beforehand that this is not really the case. First and foremost, this is a historical drama that examines the racial injustices of post-slavery Brazilian society, with some fantasy on the side and a dessert-sized helping of action. This isn't not 12 YEARS A SLAVE but there's enough violence, cruelty, and racial slurs to make for some uncomfortable scenes. In the middle of things, the story takes a PAN'S LABYRINTH-esque detour into absurdity, with spirits that only certain characters can see and the lead character turning into a frog and communing with ghosts. It's jarring and inharmonious to say the least, and not written well enough to make any sense at all.

Among the abilities of these spirits is apparent weightlessness, and this demonstrates another quirk among the filmmakers' decisions. The action is choreographed by Hong Kong stunt lord Huan-Chiu Ku, and his involvement is either the best or worst thing about the film, depending on your preferences. Instead of keeping the already fantastical displays of capoeira grounded, Ku brings in the wires to let the characters makes superhuman bounds and fly – literally fly. This is not to say that there are no fights more realistic than that – half of the four exchanges tend to remain on the ground – but nevertheless, it seems like a waste to dilute the potential of such a singular fighting style with wirework.

Despite these criticisms, the acting is fairly strong, some of the locations are beautiful, and even though the screenplay could be a lot tighter, the film is never boring. These positives help earn the film a positive rating, although it's far from the most enthusiastic one I could give. BESOURO is a singular movie, though not for reasons that I would have wanted. I hope that Ailton Carmo sees more work as an action actor, but if I never saw this film again, I would not be heartbroken. Take it or leave it.