Satellites

This is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen, although it is unfortunately hard to find. All the passion of Brazilians for football (soccer) is shown in the decision of Brazil Cup disputed by the two most popular teams from Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo and Vasco da Gama, in world-famous Maracanã stadium (before its rebuilding for the World Cup, when energy inside there was much more impressive than nowadays). The film shows what is happening around the match, focusing not the players, but the fans from both sides, mobile vendors, photographers, the police (both policemen as common people and police as a violent corporation), an informal car guard, TV channel crew, nearby bars. It is amazing how filmmakers were able to capture the feelings and reactions in so many different places at the same time (Maracanã has been once the biggest stadium in the world, therefore doing that was a hard task!). Indeed, as footage moves from a group to another, the audience impression is that we are orbiting the field, just like satellites around a planet. "Satélites" is one of the best movies ever made to understand Brazilian culture and deserves to be better known both inside and outside the country.