O Casamento de Louise

This comedy, the first from a promising Brazilian talent, is better than one would expect. That is, if one has read about the film: that it was shot on a low budget, that it's the feature film debut for its director, and that the comedy situations are not all that original.

While all the above may be true, this is one funny film. It also is a biting satire of Brazilian society, particularly that of the capital, Brasilia, corruption, even the ubiquitous Brazilian craze with football & "their" Queen Silvia of Sweden (of Brazilian origin); not to mention the illustration the rift between the upper and lower classes for a couple of generations.

Since the director has family and social ties with important Brazilian actors and actresses, well-known actors appear in the principal roles, in spite of the limited budget. Their performances are outstanding. All in all, this is a funny film; a film which also says a lot about the current state of Brazilian society.

"O casamento de Louise" (Louisa's marriage) is a witty screwball comedy that bounces from one beautifully crafted line of dialog to the next, as we are privy to the inner monologues of two women: Louise, a wealthy violinist, and her maid/nanny/cook/secretary Luiza. Besides their social level, the women are opposite also in temperament, intelligence, and ability - Louise is "theory" and Luiza "practice". From birth they seem to have led parallel lives that play out right down to the level of their moment to moment thoughts. Of course parallel can also mean exactly opposite, and from this comes much of the humor of the film.

On a star-crossed day, a procession of likable men visit Louise (and Luiza) with comical results. Who (if any) will be the one to marry Louise as the title implies? Although the movie pokes fun at pretensions in general and Brazilian social structure in particular, it does so gently and without the slightest heaviness. If this movie were a drink it would be a caipirinha - tart, sweet and refreshing.