A Grande Arte

A film that is extremely evocative - so many exciting nuances. It is unforgettable - a pity that the actor who played the "knife expert" is seen more. One of Peter Coyote's best.An unusual cast - many contrasts. The photography is outstanding. A haunting experience....

The first scene of the film is brilliant!!!! A hooker is murdered. One reporter, his friend, decide to try to find her murderer and finds a lot of different friends, places, situations that weren't expected. Specially, a "master" of knives..... Script, scenarios, photography are perfect and make a perfect match.

I believe this oddly successful film was also aired on US television (Bravo channel) as "Exposure". I have never seen it under the other titles listed. The knife techniques are very professional and effective, as is the explanation of selection of weapons.

The path of a pacifist photographer being seduced by the need for justice and the intrigue of a hitherto unknown world of professional assassins plying their trade via the intimate and all-too-personal death delivered by a knife is a very deep experience to watch unfold, and Peter Coyote does it to a tee.

His inner revulsion to the horror of embracing this culture is offset by its fascination as well as the necessity of descending into it to find out the truth behind the killing of model/prostitutes. Slowly but surely you observe the influence of his gaining knowledge and confidence as he is tutored (by a master of the art he just happens to see and captures on camera one day plying his craft), all dragging him down to dive in completely.

The plot thickens as characters are revealed and surprises are forthcoming, all leading to a fantastic final knife-fighting confrontation with the acknowledged master, someone he has known all along but not suspected.

I saw this movie about 10 years ago, but never noted the title until I was trying to order it on-line, and now I have it in my collection. I highly recommend it for its combination of intense drama, revealing close analysis of the process of a sworn pacifist turned to embrace violence as a way of life, amazing fighting scenes, and an uplifting ending. Unforgettable.

Whoever owns this movie please release on DVD. This is a cult type movie centered around knife fighting. The back story, cinematography, and allure of a dangerous earthly South America draws the viewer into what is probably Peter Coyote's most interesting work. Highly recommended! Very few movies transmit the feeling of a place as well as this movie does so visually. I have been searching for this movie for sometime and wonder why it hasn't been released on DVD. Early Walter Salles is much better than most of what is being shot today. Coyote plays a photographer living in Rio that avenges the death of a prostitute friend and goes on a journey through South America to do so. In the process of this his character learns to fight with knifes and becomes involved in an underworld whose rules he is forced to adapt to and survive.