The military dictatorship has its grip on the country.
It is an act of rebellion to be happy.
When Rubens is suddenly arrested, shattering this picture, there is a visceral sense of shock.
‘I’m Still Here’Alile Onawale
There is a harrowing series of interrogations where Eunice is initially painfully polite.
Surely there is nothing to know.
She was loved, but excluded.
That terror could be overturned with a brief epilogue; instead, it dribbles away.
But perhaps this is a minor quibble, given the strength and urgency of the story that goes before.
Salles has a purpose here.
As much as it is a celebration, it is his defence of Brazil.
