From the series "it's funny cos it's true", "Por Dúvida das Vias" is a very humored short film about the countless problematic ways a
young member from the press encounters while dealing with state bureaucrats in order to write her news report.
Journalism intern Vera Lúcia (Silvia
Buarque) was given the task of reporting on the number of suicides that occurred during the Brazilian Royal Empire, so she goes to a public administration
building to get material and articles from the period. The series of unfortunate (and hilarious) events trouble the young woman as she deals with
receptionists, secretaries (Marieta Severo plays the funniest on scene), administrators (Hugo Carvana), an angry waiter (Antônio Pedro), a suspicious
boss (Carlos Gregório), a frightened office boy (Marcos Palmeira), and others who prefer to gossip and joke around instead of working, and none of
them seem to help her in what she needs, making her go up and down inside the chaotic building.
The great appeal of this film is that it shows us an everlasting reality of the period when it comes to bureaucracy from political/administrative
places but told in a funny manner. Everything is missplaced, confusing, workers who only care about their paychecks rather than actually working, and the
few ones with some power and control of things make a series of demands and complicate the process of getting things done. Vera learns the hard way, walking
through endless corridors and battling people just to get what any concerned citizen should have a simple access to information - the battle with the male
clerks at the beginning is painful yet funny to watch. And if technology and computers were brought to reduce complications, in the case shown it was another
towering obstacle even for those who dealt with them.
That was then, but what about now? Guess one can say things had significant changes but dealing with public services and depending on the specific
area it can be a troubling serious thing. This movie knew what it was like back in the day, and with plenty of charm and a great sense of reality the filmmakers managed
to bring things to light in a way we could all laugh about and enjoy the great performances from the cast. Unlike the bureaucratic system of its period, this
film works perfectly. 9/10.
