Ventos de Agosto

This film is set in a remote Brazilian coastal community, and is slow - very, very slow. So slow, in fact, that the main plot line - the discovery of a corpse - doesn't even occur until close to the second half of the film.

Up until then the viewer sees the daily life of the community: coconut-picking, the mending of fishing nets, the never-ending battle against flood waters. One of the main characters is Shirley, a young woman visiting from the big city, who cruelly practices tattooing on pigs. She starts a relationship with Jeison, a young man dominated by his father who becomes obsessed with looking after the afore-mentioned corpse while waiting for the police to arrive (when he and Shirley aren't finding a novel use for the coconut truck, that is). Shirley and Jeison are, I think, played by professional actors; but many of the supporting characters appear to be amateurs - certainly more than one of them - even the adults - look directly into the camera in the manner of a passer-by who has just wandered into shot, which at times gives the film a disappointing 'un-edited' feel.

Still, once you get used to the slow, slooo-ooow pace, this isn't a bad film - and not just because of a couple of great nude scenes.