Viva Sapato!

This film was shown by HBO last night. Not having a clue as to what it was about, and only knowing a couple of the actors in the cast, I decided to take a look. Well, this has to be one of the worst films to come out of Brazil in quite a while.

The film, directed by Carlos Lacerda is a misguided attempt to bring together two cultures that on paper should be similar, but in reality they're completely different. The film is phony from beginning to end. Just to think that the Cuban dancers are free to leave their island on a whim, is stretching the truth big time. Not only that, but at one point Dolores, the young woman at the center of the story, picks up her cellular phone and proceeds to dial her 'santera' godmother, in Rio, and miracle of miracles: she gets through and they speak!

To make matter worse, Mr. Lacerda has given a Spaniard actor, Jorge Sanz, the main role of Jose, who tries to imitate the Cuban accent, without much success. He has also another Spaniard actress, Maria Galina, as Merceditas, whose relationship to Dolores is never explained. Merceditas deals in the black market selling liters of milk, that she gets for nothing, due to her diabetic condition, and then sells them for five dollars, which is pure fantasy.

Even the dancing is third rate. In fact, if you want to have a laugh or two rent it, if you want to have a laugh at the preposterous screen play and watch soft core porn as the director wants the viewer to experience various couplings and a possible multiple from the cast.

Mr. Lacerda doesn't have a clue about what he is trying to pass as a film.

I agree this movie was not the best but it did keep me watching (and the fact that I am of Cuban descent probably played a role). The story was weak, confusing and almost unorganized. It's obvious early on that the movie is far from absolute truth yet it almost shows some unspoken truths.

I didn't quite get who Mercedez was in relation to Dolores or what Mercedez was doing with all the bottles. It appeared towards the end that Mercedez was selling her urine because she was a diabetic and others would get some sort of benefit (medical disability?) by using her urine as their own to be labeled as a diabetic. Still wondering about that...

I thought the reporter was hysterical with her obsession with the Cuban men. I was surprised she left the country. It seemed all the actors were portrayed as dumb/wacky except for Delores, Jose and Mercedez. I thought Jose did an okay job (definitely not the best man for the job though). I enjoyed the fowl language used by the woman of the town as it reminded me of how my grandfather spoke in his Cuban rhetoric! ONE thing the film did leave me with was the desire to research the cultural aspects of Cuba and Brazil.

If you like a little fantasy and like to watch a little culture then I recommend checking it out.