Anjos da Noite

Literally in English, "Angels of the Night", this was an unforgettable experience when I saw it in 1987 during the Rio de Janeiro Film Festival. It is a dramatic comedy, in which a young woman who studies sociology is given access to the video archive of a rich widow and malandra ex model Malú Maneca (Zezé Motta), containing information about characters of the nights of São Paulo: gigolos, prostitutes, transvestites, pimps, a theater director, a film star of the past reduced to doing TV commercial spots, a homosexual publicist. It is considered one of the best examples of the so-called "cinema novo paulista" (new cinema of São Paulo), with a touch of "neon realism" that makes it very special, plus a beautiful musical number danced by the great Marília Pêra, and Guilherme Leme. It was the only motion picture directed by Barros, who died in the early 1990s.

Along the night of São Paulo, the lives of many characters interconnect through reality and fiction, in a search for love and sympathy.

"Anjos da Noite" is an experimental movie of the "Novo Cinema Paulista" ("New Paulista Cinema"), a movement in the 80's that took place in São Paulo and that was considered nostalgic and nihilistic in the vision of many critics. The metaphoric inconclusive essay about loneliness of the urban citizen in the big city focuses one night in the lives of common people without any judgment or conclusion: Ciça (Be Valerio), the student of sociology researching some tapes; Teddy (Guilheme Leme), a escort man that interacts with all the characters; Marta Brum (Marília Pera), a former successful actress forgotten by the audiences and limited to commercials on TV; Guto (Marcos Nanini), a successful gay that lives in New York and occasionally returns to Brazil for short periods; the director Jorge (Antônio Fagundes), who is interested in having sex with a young actress. The stunning performances of Marília Pera, Guilherme Leme and Marcos Nanini are remarkable. The optimistic end, showing the dawn with Ciça and Teddy together, in a wonderful photography, ends this different but attractive passionate movie. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Anjos da Noite" ("Angels of the Night")

A multitude of characters from São Paulo's social and cultural underworld are gathered in unusual encounters in "Angels of the Night". Artists, drag queens, performers, actors and others who try to find some meaning into their lives either being by expressing themselves through art, love or even crimes. The circle of acquaintances and lovers are formed by a model (Zezé Motta) who invests both on the world of arts and also some criminal activities; a gay reporter (Marco Nanini) who returns from New York to meet with a former lover (Guilherme Leme), who works as a hustler; a famous decadent actress (Marília Pêra); a sociology student (Bê Valério) working on her thesis on underground characters; a theatre director (Antônio Fagundes) who seduces a young actress (Aida Lerner) who wants to be part of his new play; and the drag queen Lola (Chiquinho Brandão), a popular performer who's having a nervous breakdown.

Through the night those characters have some bumpy meetings, some happy encounters as well and the movie challenges audiences through its metacinema language where fact and fiction clash at each other with factual events that become a film or the idea for a play or they can also become a reality to them. A murder that happens on a play can also be repeated in a life situation and vice-versa, and true artists know exactly that's how their best works are created when life is being transported to the screen or the stage.

In his only experience directing a feature film, writer and director Wilson Barros creates an intriguing and surreal work where audiences are invited to figure out what's real and what's not with those characters and their realities. He breaks conventions time and again and the final result is a fascinating, sexy and humored study on the human condition and the importance of art in everyone's lives. His images of a bright city at night is a visual spectacle that has a highly cinematic view but also one that feels as if showing a documentary about São Paulo of the late 1980's, just like Chico Botelho did in "Cidade Oculta".

There's humor, there's danger, there's romance and a powerful social discourse about people, their relations and what they consider important.

Sequences such as the meeting of the hustler with the actress where he talks about his love for the reporter, and later on their dancing moment paying a tribute to the MGM classic "The Band Wagon"; or Lola's loud rant while escaping the cops in the rain, are some of the most fascinating and well-written moments in the history of Brazilian cinema. And there are plenty more, and the whole ensamble cast is a pure delight to watch (Leme, Marília and Brandão most notably). The magic of movies is truly present in this one and I loved it all the way. 10/10.