Powerful somewhat partisan documentary which explores the conditions that have led to the rise of Bolsonaro in Brazil, namely the twisting of the political and legal system to suit the interests of the far-right and the rich. Lots to reflect on and relate to other nations.
Petra Costa is the daughter of left-wing activists from the 70’s and her mother, who appears here, was jailed in the same prison as Dilma Rousseff in those times.
Costa’s thesis is that Brazil has moved back down the past to a dictatorship and dark times in recent years and that its democracy is very sick.
She takes us through the very complex issues of the last ten years – the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff as President on political rather than legal grounds despite her innocence, the imprisonment of Lula da Silva on the basis of a gifted apartment, which the Supreme Court has subsequently ruled belong to Lula,
the manipulations of justice conducted by Lavajato investigator Sergio Moro, later rewarded with the post of Minister of Justice in the Bolsonaro government and the reluctance to investigate interim President Michel Temer who in fact did much of the dirty work to oust the Worker’s Party from power illegally.
Bolsonaro is shown at the end to be taking advantage of all of this and with the help of the media and social media ending up winning an election based on falsehoods and promises he may not be able to fulfil. Costa focuses mostly on the political side here but as you watch you feel an investigation of the judiciary and of big business is also necessary.
The trouble is who is impartial enough to do it? A British lawyer discusses the corrupt Brazilian system whereby a prosecutor (Moro) can also be the judge of a case he has investigated. Two of the most moving scenes are those in the Parliament when Dilma is impeached with the most ridiculous arguments and lies being used to oust her, from a Congress in which a hefty majority are themselves under legal investigation for misfeasance.
The second in the same Parliamentary buildings in Brasilia are when some cleaners are interviewed as Dilma moves out. They are not surprised by what has happened, probably because they have seen the backstory. Tellingly, they feel that none of the politicians are clean.
Costa asks “How did we get here?” and her documentary with excellent personal behind-the-scenes footage of Dilma and Lula sets out to answer that question. A bigger concern arises: How do we get out of here?” Sadly, this may be infinitely harder to respond to.
This type of film throws up more questions than answers and doesn’t always cover all we need to know. Nevertheless, with her calm poignant voiceovers and judicious use of real footage and her own material, Costa makes the current situation clear.
Her use of scenes of the Brazilian senate and congress plus many street scenes illustrate the story well. I found it convincing and thought-provoking and obviously clear that it is one full but incomplete side of a very complex story.
4 stars plus
passionfilm 