Acqua Movie

A sequel to the excellent "Árido Movie", this road movie focuses on indigenous demonstrations, on the politicians who are common in the countryside and have been in power for years, decimating and frightening the population, especially the indigenous and mixed-race people. Alessandra Negrini is amazing, the dialogues with the locals are delightful and spontaneous, the northeastern culture is wrapped up in an ode to suspense, and there is a lot of reflection... The touches of humor and the photography and arid locations are engaging and enchanting...

Cicero is a 12-year-old boy who finds his father dead in the bathroom, the victim of a massive heart attack. The boy's mother, who spends long periods away from home, returns to São Paulo, interrupting the filming of her movie in the Amazon rainforest. Cicero convinces her to take a long trip through the northeast of the country to take his father's ashes to his hometown.

This is a very good movie, which becomes more interesting as it advances when pieces attach each other. Although coherent and balanced, the movie changes continuously the genre it fits, from a family drama to a road movie, then to a comedy, eventually becoming a socially grounded thriller. The town Nova Rocha in Pernambuco hinterlands itself may be seen as a character. A boy knows his roots, a mother gets closer to her offspring, indigenous people she loves are in sight of the traditional predatory family she hates due violent land dispute. It is a very good script. Acting is also quite good, Alessandra Negrini, the boy Antonio Haddad Guerre and obviously Marcélia Cartaxo have very good performances, but Augusto Madeira was particularly awesome in the role of uncle/mayor Múcio. The two sides clashing (indigenous people and the activist filmmaker in favor of life, vs. Greedy powerful rough landowners aiming to control everything for their economic interests) may be metaphorically seen as the water (which appear in the name of the film) and the sterile dryness.