Bicho de Sete Cabeças

a true story about a young man that's put in an asylum by his own father when he founds a pot cigarette on the son's pocket. wonderfully photographed in a documental way, with a camera that's always on movement, this movie has a perfect script, great soundtrack, composed by two of brazil's most talented musicians and absolutely marvelous performances, specially by the lead character, neto, played by Rodrigo Santoro and his friend on the asylum, Ceara. this movie is a must see!!!

Neto is a teenager. He's quiet, doesn't seem to care about anything, and is tight-lipped with his mother, father and sister. He hangs out, drinks, smokes pot with his friends, and gets arrested for spray-painting graffiti. He even gets into a pushing fight with his father when they argue.

When his father finds a marijuana joint in his clothing, the family thinks that he has a drug habit. They decide to practice tough love to help him. Do they talk to him about what they've found? No. Do they put him in a drug-counseling program? No.

This is where the title, Bicho de Sete Cabeças (animal with seven heads) comes in. It's a Brazilian term that loosely means, 'making a mountain out of a molehill,' 'blowing something way out of proportion' or 'something horrible.' The action that Neto's family takes when they find that he's been smoking joints is drastic. Convinced that they are doing the proper thing, they commit him into a mental institution. They have every faith in the staff to help their loving son and brother.

Neto's nightmare begins, when it is evident that he is in the wrong place. The Institution staff is corrupt and mistreats its patients. In order to keep him docile and to restrain him in the ward to get more government funds, they give him drugs and shock therapy.

This film is based on the real life experience of Austregésilo Carrano who has made it his mission in life to expose and fight abuses that can take place in Brazilian mental institutions. While watching the film, I thought the entire situation would end in a tragedy, but I was happy to see that something positive came out of the experience.

The entire cast gives a heart-wrenching performance. Rodrigo Santoro, who plays the role of Neto gives a very strong performance. My heart ached for Neto as I watched his father trick him into going to the mental institution and then finding himself trapped in a nightmare, where he was sane among the other patients.

The sister (played by Daniela Nefussi) and parents (played by Othon Bastos and Cássia Kiss) give convincing performances. I could understand their actions, although clearly misguided and drastic.

Bicho de Sete Cabeças is the story of something horrific that ends well.

"Bicho de sete cabeças" is based on a true story, but it somehow resembles an overlong advertising spot with documentary posturing. Director Laís Bodanzky tries to make it look harsh and real, but few situations ring true, not the least those related to the young. This is quite obvious when the filmmakers try to find a cinematic equivalent to the perceptive alterations of a person under the influence of drugs. Back in the 1960's one could pass such naiveté as a Roger Corman joke in the face of lack of budget, but today it seems rather clumsy. Although he is too old for the leading role of Neto, Rodrigo Santoro gives a startling performance. As a matter of fact, it is his work that holds the movie together. Unfortunately, he has to deal with a weak script that opts for stereotypes: this is not a bad option per se, but it clashes with the film's intention to create a documentary climate. When the family visits Santoro in the sanatorium, for example, incoherence reigns, sister makes dumb remarks, mother smokes, while father bursts into his usual rhetoric. Poor Othon Bastos does his best to bring a bit of humanity out of his role as the father, loaded with clichéd dialogues. Hugo Kovensky's cinematography is also outstanding but in the end the script and the direction betray the intentions of the rest concerned. 6/10

Shocking. This is how I felt when watching this movie. It is a raw picture of the mental institutions system of Brazil and the ignorance by the parents and relatives about dealing with the subject of drugs. Is the act of putting someone in public mental institution the best solution or the easiest ? The madness of our society leads the family to take the easiest solutions instead of giving love. Medicine instead of friendship. This astonishing movie shows us all these kind of conflicts. Conducted by a fantastic music composed by Arnaldo Antunes.

Bicho de sete cabeças is a kick in the gut. Documentary style scenes constitute the skeleton of the movie, and makes the movie approach the status of masterpiece. The acting of Rodrigo Santoro is really good. I've seen him on Abril Despedaçado before, and I can say I see a bright future ahead of this guy. He's handsome and talented. I hope to see such great movies of his in the future. The madman called Ceara in the first mental institution is also showing signs of a PERFECT acting. I've never seen any actor that can act a crazy guy so well before. I was absolutely stunned by his performance! It's really sad how a young man is turned into a wacko by his revolting father's stupid strategies. What's worse is that, he experiences all that just because he doesn't take his father's tyranny, and smokes weed occasionally, like loads of people at his age. And what's even worse is that, this is a real life experience. I'd really like to sit down and have a coffee with that guy one day, and listen to his experiences in his own words. The movie made me want that.

The Brazilian cinema is the rising star of these days, and I sure hope it'll keep up the good work. A country with such a diverse culture, people experiencing extreme incidents in different walks of life, and great filmmaking skills to show those things to us. For this particular film though, I strongly doubt only Brazilian mental institutions are like this. Most likely, several terrible places like that exist all over the world. It's not certain that you're mad if you go there, but as this film depicts, it's almost certain for you to leave mad, if ever. Also make sure to see Abril Despedaçado with the same actor if you can. Brazilian movies rule!

9/10 for this all in all great movie.