O Santo Salvador e o Demônio

"O Santo Salvador e o Demônio" ("The Saint Savior and the Devil") is truly something special. It's images echo through my mind for a long time and how such a simple story, probably told a thousand times on other short or feature films, yet I was still amazed by it. On director's Daguito Rodrigues net profile (or YouTube, where he posted it), it is said that this film was a film college project...and for what he presented, conquered and showed to us this is one of the most impressive film students ever made. Gotta have some real nerve to film in a crowded place such as a São Paulo centre - crowded, noisy, unexpected and violent just as the situation presented in the story.

It all starts with a robber (Ricardo Leite Agostinho) who after an almost failed assault was chased by the police, entered into a bar and made hostages. When he realizes there's no escape from there since the bar's owner secretly called the cops (and then he noticed it) he takes a girl (Julia Saragoza) as his main hostage and goes into a building. He can kill her at any time but she defies him every single time even when there's a possible chance of this man rapes her. So, they get into this decaying building (the Praça da Sé surroundings has lots of places like that still now) where the elevator breaks; old and loud neighbors keep creeping in but they find an empty apartment. And that's when the story gets crazy and interesting. An old fat man pops in and we get to find that, despite the scenario of a young tormented man with a gun could kill him and the girl, that man is acquainted with the girl and they don't have a good relationship (I won't go into further details, can't spoil the enjoyment). But they hate each other, and in the girl's case more than her kidnapper - who doesn't have a clue about what's going on.

What can I say? It was brilliantly made and the main issue - and that also goes with the title - is that the person who brings you danger and harm might be your guardian angel or savior if you prefer, and the matter of chances of life (coincidences if you understand better) is always around us when we least expect. Well, it's hard to expect. It's the surprise that makes things better even when you thought the worst is yet to come. Here's a frantic, fast, tense, thrilling and reliable film experience, greatly acted by first timers (the robber was really good. Sometimes he sounds far theatrical but he makes the film. Good looking man too who developed a career later on). The thing that bothers is the ultimate scene involving real life figures, a clown doing trick on Catedral da Sé, which was off-putting and too random, I couldn't find a meaning to it. Harmless but really good. Thumbs Up! 8/10