Bruna Surfistinha

"Bruna" Marcus Baldini - As if we need excuses to waste almost a couple of hours watching Deborah Seco undressing and doing it like it's hot! The story captivated me for being based on real facts that I personally didn't know. I found it interesting only because of a certain verbal gymnastics that keeps me laughing in the lexicon of the Brazilian Portuguese and the lightness in which the most serious subjects can be portrayed by Brazilian directors, sometimes even in an ethereal fashion. But this movie is worth only for the scenes with Deborah Seco, just because the emotional dimension of it is sometimes lost and one never gets to understand what leads the main character to taking such a shaky turn, one does not understand what kind of analysis is made and for trying to tell a story sometimes the film gets so close to wanting to tell too much without showing great substance. I give it a 7 out of 10, almost pulling in a 6, but our friend Deborah Seco saved the movie (although at the beginning of the movie she acting very stuck up and out of character, perhaps because they wanted her to go through an age that simply is nor hers any more).

'Bruna Surfistinha' is the story of Rachel Pacheco, an adopted Brazilian girl that constantly suffered from bullying and, feeling apart of everyone, leaved her house and family at age of 18 in search for independence to prove herself and the others that she could be someone special. Then she finds a job opportunity that could give what she was so desperately wanting. She really didn't care if it's from sex, she just wanted to make money and achieve her objectives. "More sex, more money", that's what she thinks to keep surviving.

During her hooker years, Bruna Surfistinha did start maintaining a blog, writing about her sexual experiences with her different clients, giving them special and personalized treatment in bed and also reviews and ratings about their performance in her blog, making them some kind special and taking each one of them away from their miserable unhappy life they lived in. She conquered their appreciation and the anonymous mouth-to-mouth publicity made her one of the most desirable prostitutes at that time. The blog was a successful step making her famous and respected in her business. She made a lot of money with important and rich people, living in a first class condo and having everything she ever wanted.

'What comes easy goes easy', that's what people say. Not as easy as it's supposed, but everything did go as easy as said. With her successful sex business she overrated herself and meantime became addicted to drugs, fell in depression and lost almost everything, coming back to where she started: from nowhere. Then she reemerged, got all the money she needed back to stop living from sex and wrote a best seller called "O Doce Veneno do Escorpião" (The Sweet Poison Of The Scorpion) in which the movie is based on.

That's how she became famous in Brazil. All of this - except the book episode - is in the movie.

When the film was announced many people laughed and thought it was a joke, because it's not necessary read the book to know that Rachel Pacheco (aka Bruna Surfistinha) isn't a Diablo Cody (the American ex-stripper who also became famous as a blogger and won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for 2007's Juno). Her fame was much more a popular response against taboo than just a natural talent. Even so, the book and the life of Rachel Pacheco offered enough material for a movie that fulfills its intents.

Unlike what was previously believed, the film is surprising in all aspects. Even looking like a TV movie sometimes, the debut direction of Marcus Baldini worth some attention. The well developed screenplay with natural and accurate dialogs is also a plus. The cast, the soundtrack and the edition - which is largely responsible for most of the movie's development - are top of note here. The cinematography sometimes are beautiful and intensifies some dramatic and erotic moments without being appealing. Also, nudity and sex scenes here are just used objectively and never being abusive or compelling, very different from some ordinary titles that uses nudity and sex just as an instrument to attract audience which is very expected here but never delivers more than the necessary. The movie can easily be defined as some kind of Christiane F (1981) meets Pretty Woman (1990) because Bruna is what Julia Roberts' character would be without Richard Gere.

The movie is a slap on the face of those who underestimated its quality just by its topic. Deborah Secco, known in Brazil for her roles in soap operas since she was a teenager, finally grew up as an actress because the movie succeeds most by her performance. Credits should also be given to the supporting actresses, especially Drica Moraes (as madam Larissa), the greatness of her work is evident every time she appears.

'Bruna Surfistinha' never tries to give the character a martyr neither a heroin image, she's just someone that simply got the job and now is suffering its consequences. Much less tries to make her life a modern fairy tale being - perhaps - screenplay's greatest advantage and also what makes the movie never fall into cheap emotionalism.

For sure it's not the best thing you will ever watch, but also not the worst. Obviously it needs to be watched as a movie and not as a biographical thing with some lessons you need to learn because even the ugliest truth becomes a beautiful thing in movies, that's why it's worth watching without any profound expectations.

This is the story of a teenage girl who runs away from her adopted family for vague reasons (her adopted brother is cruel to her, she is taken advantage of sexually by the boys in school). She "turns the tables" on everybody by going to work at a brothel, then striking out on her own as an internet call girl, then starting a pseudo-feminist blog as "Bruna Surfergirl" where she "rates" the performance of her male clients (which you would think would be bad for business), and somehow becoming the most famous hooker in Brazil.

This movie is based a real-life story, but it is of a piece with a lot foreign movies I've seen lately from France ("Student Services", "Elles", "Young and Beautiful"), Eastern Europe ("A Call Girl"), and Chile ("Joven y Alocado"). This is less preachy and socially alarmist than some of the others, but I think, like them, it definitely glamorizes prostitution quite a bit, both for women (this really doesn't seem like that bad of profession) and definitely for men since all these actresses are insanely hot and much more wholesome looking and genuinely pretty than any actual streetwalker who services thirty men a week and abuses hard drugs would ever possibly be. You could complain that the actress, Deborah Secco, was nearly 30 here and playing an 18 year old, but she probably LOOKS more fresh and innocent than any real teenager who has spent six months working the streets. Prostitution is obviously enticing sometimes to both female providers and male clients, but at best it's like a tasty-looking meal that happens to be lying in a garbage dumpster. These movies kind of tend to ignore the garbage dumpster.

If you're just looking a hot sex movie with higher production values, better acting, and more of a story than "Cinemax After Dark", this movie is definitely worth watching, but don't expect any profound statement on the human condition.

The movie shouts at every scene: somebody else, like the State, paid for this movie. It reminds me of crappy popular European movies from the 1970s, all made with State money for the mindless pride of politicians and bureaucrats: our nation is so good! Everything is a missed hit about this movie.

The "kids" are much older. And I do not care about the actor's ages. They can be 95 years old as far as I care. But they certainly do not look the given age. See above: some useless actors were used, not because they fit the bill, but because they have enough experience and relationships that the syndicate or some politician did the casting. And how come the fresh flower from a middle class family has fake breasts already healed? Another proof of the power of prayer!

Each and every scene is slow. The actors are moving too slow. The camera is moving too slow. I doubt this story can fill the usual 90 minutes. And it's almost two hours long! Because the wages were certain, nobody bothered to learn anything about the life of the characters. Probably most could not be bothered to read the entire book. Now, Brazil has enough backwards religious communities so some might be surprised about the concept of prostitution or homosexuality. But these are actors. The year is 2011. And there is such thing as the internet. And not only the actors are bad and rigid, but the whole team is junk. Take the scene from the beginning, when the girl is introduced to her flat mates. They are all, like Jesus at the last supper, turned towards the camera. And the newcomer? Easy! She finds a place left for her and turns for the camera.

Contact me with Questions, Comments or Suggestions ryitfork @ bitmail.ch

I could be wrong but I never saw a good quality of Brazilian movie.

If you are prepared to watch a soft porn film, this one is for you. Otherwise, forget it.