Rio, Eu Te Amo (Rio, I Love You) is an anthology film collecting a series of short films by several of the world’s finest filmmakers about stories of love in the city of Rio de Janeiro. With four segments directed by Brazilian filmmakers Carlos Saldanha, Fernando Meirelles, Jose Padilha, and Andrucha Waddington plus six segments helmed by Guillermo Arriaga, Stephan Elliott, Im Sang-soo, Nadine Labaki, Paolo Sorrentino, and John Turturro as well as transitions directed by Vicente Amorim. The film follows the idea of love through many different people in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The result is a lively and enchanting film all set in the wondrous city of Rio de Janeiro.
In Dona Fulana (directed by Andrucha Waddington and written by Waddington and Mauricio Zacharias), an old homeless woman (Fernanda Montenegro) is roaming around the streets of Rio living her life as she is followed by a young man (Eduardo Sterblitch) as he tries to help her. La Fortuna (written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino) follows a couple (Basil Hoffman and Emily Mortimer) vacationing in Rio where the husband is paralyzed with a stroke while dealing with his spoiled wife who refuses to give him the vices in life that could kill him. In A Musa (directed by Fernando Meirelles and written by Antonio Prata and Chico Mattoso), an artist (Vincent Cassel) makes a sand sculpture as he notices a woman (Debora Nascimento) where he tries to win her love by making a sculpture.
Acho que Estou Apaixonado (written and directed by Stephan Elliott), a popular movie star (Ryan Kwanten) is struck by the wonders of the Sugarloaf Mountain where he and his Brazilian assistant (Marcelo Serrado) climb the mountain as the latter tells him about the legend of the mountain where they meet a beautiful spirit (Bebel Gilberto). In Quando nao ha Mais Amor (written and directed by John Turturro), a couple (John Turturro and Vanessa Paradis) breaks up as they cope with what they had and what got lost. Texas (written and directed by Guillermo Arriaga) is about a one-armed boxer (Land Viera) who is given a chance to help his model wife (Laura Neiva) walk again following an accident where he is offered a proposal by a man (Jason Isaacs) that comes with dire consequences.
In O Vampiro do Rio (written and directed by Im Sang-soo), an old vampire (Tonico Pereira meets a prostitute (Roberta Rodrigues) as he hopes to make her part of a small group of people who live in the city as vampires. Pas de Deux (directed by Carlos Saldanha and written by Elena Soarez) revolves around a ballet couple (Rodrigo Santoro and Bruna Linzmeyer) who perform behind a silhouette curtain for a performance as they quietly bicker about some life-changing decisions. Inutil Paisagem (directed by Jose Paldiha and written by Octavio Leonido) follows a man (Wagner Moura) who flies on a glider over Rio as curses the statue of Christ the Redeemer over his own failed relationship with his ex-wife (Cleo Pires). The final segment in O Milagre (directed by Nadine Labaki and written by Labaki, Rodney El Haddad, and Khaled Mouzanar) has an actor (Harvey Keitel) and an actress (Nadine Labaki) meet a boy (Caua Antunes) at a train station who is waiting from a phone call from Jesus Christ where the actor and actress do something to make that call happen.
The film follows a series of stories about love through ten different segments plus transitional scenes involving characters from those stories as well as a cab driver (Michel Melamed) and his former flame (Claudia Abreu) which is written by Fellipe Barbosa and directed by Vicente Amorim. It all plays into the ideas of love in many ways as it’s all set in the city of Rio de Janeiro where it is a character in the film and many of its landmarks add to its beauty. Though the filmmakers in the film don’t really do anything new to explore more of the city including its slums. It’s more about the city and how it inspires love in many different ways through the eyes of its filmmakers and their own takes on love. Filmmakers such as Stephan Elliott, Andrucha Waddington, Fernando Meirelles, and Nadine Labaki tell stories that are very unconventional as it doesn’t exactly follow the formula of love. Instead, they go for something different in their own definition of love as their segments are the ones that really standout as it also uses the locations and situations to really do something wondrous.
Another segment that is very unconventional is from Im Sang-soo whose idea of vampires living around Rio as they wear sunglasses to protect themselves from the sun is actually a very crafty and fun idea. Especially as they would spend the night dancing around as if it was Carnival where it has something a bit dark but also fun. Jose Paldiha’s segment is the most simple of them all but it’s also kind of controversial considering that its protagonist would make a very obscene gesture towards Christ the Redeemer but it does have a beauty for the fact that it’s shot largely from a glider’s perspective. The rest of the film does kind of play by the rules as far as the conventional ideas of love yet all manage to create stories that are at least engaging. Paolo Sorrentino’s segment is mainly comical while the segments by Guillermo Arriaga and John Turturro are the most dramatic. The segment by Carlos Saldanha is definitely the most beautiful in terms of its presentation as it’s more focused on ballet and music with some rumblings of what is happening behind the scenes between the two dancers.
Visually, the film does follow similar visual palettes in its cinematography though they’re able to give each segment something of its own with Saldanha’s shot largely at night and Meirelles’ segment starting off at night and then into the day where he would have the most technically inventive with its editing both visually and in its sound. Much of the film’s music soundtrack features an array of music from Brazil including the samba and bossa nova with much of its contribution from Gilberto Gil providing the film’s theme music. The film’s phenomenal cast all do some fantastic work with Fernanda Montenegro being the big standout in the titular role of Dona Fulana while Harvey Keitel provides a very kind and sensitive performance as an actor who would help a kid in getting a message from Jesus Christ in the O Milagre segment where Keitel would speak Portuguese for part of the film.
Rio, Eu Te Amo is a marvelous anthology film that features some incredible segments from Fernando Meirelles, Im Sang-soo, Carlos Saldanha, and several others. Along with a great cast, amazing music, and gorgeous images, it’s a film that portrays Rio not just as a place of paradise but also something that is wild and intoxicating from the perspective of its locals to the tourists visiting the city. In the end, Rio, Eu Te Amo is a sensational film that explores all the joys and frustrations of love in Rio de Janeiro.
Related: Paris, Je T'aime - New York, I Love You - (Tbilisi, I Love You)
© thevoid99 2017
Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 9/4/05 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.
Based on the novel by John Le Carre, The Constant Gardener is the story about a British diplomat who tries to figure out what happened to his wife where he discovers about illegal business practices involving pharmaceuticals in Africa by his own government. Directed by Fernando Meirelles and screenplay by Jeffrey Caine, the film is about a man dealing with his wife's loss and how he tries to help uncover into why she was murdered in Africa. Starring Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Bill Nighy, Danny Huston, Donald Sumpter, and Pete Postlethwaite. The Constant Gardener is a phenomenal thriller from Fernando Meirelles.
The film is about a quiet British diplomat who learns about his the murder of his activist wife as he tries to figure out what happened to her. Yet, he goes into a journey into figuring out why she was murder as in Kenya as it relates to the illegal business practices relating to pharmaceuticals. The story is largely told from the the eyes of this diplomat named Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes) who is quiet individual who often escapes into being a gardener. The death of his wife Tessa (Rachel Weisz) forces him to asks questions as he asks those in his government about what happened forcing him to go to Kenya himself. Even as it involves a top political official in Sir Bernard Pellegrin (Bill Nighhy) where Quayle begins to piece out the things his wife was trying to uncover as it involves illegal testing on Africans where he eventually meets a doctor in Marcus Lorber (Pete Postlethwaite) whom he met some time earlier as Quayle realizes it's a bigger thing that concerns Africa as a whole.
A lesser director or someone more commercial would've tried to get away from a lot of the social commentary of the film to go more into the romantic subplot of the movie while trying to make it more appealing for a mass audience without being too preachy. Director Fernando Meirelles and screenwriter Jeffrey Caine refused to polish any of those ideas. Caine's adaptation of the Le Carre` novel gives the story a wonderfully stylish thriller that has a bit of romance and suspense as well as some insightful social commentary. What is going on in Africa with its poverty, people dying from disease, and being used as guinea pigs for drug testing is truly disgusting. The way Caine told the story was giving the film's first act a non-linear structure of flashbacks even a bit of that in the second and third act.
The structure of the story is wonderful where the first act is Justin's relationship with Tessa and dealing with her activism. The second act is him grieving and realizing what she was trying to do. The third is him finally realizing his own role and the sacrifices he's making. This is some great storytelling with a lot of dangers about pharmaceuticals where things can go wrong in the side effects. Even in the social commentary, we see things where Meirelles captures every awful that is going on and at moments, we see Tessa and later on, Justin trying to do what is right for one person where maybe, that little moment can change someone's life.
Meirelles' ability to give the story not just a genre-bending style in the storytelling but his raw approach of directing gives the film some intense reality. Shooting on location in Africa, Meirelle captures everything from the landscapes, deserts, to the shanty towns and villages where all those poor people live. With his regular cinematographer Cesar Charlone, the film is shown just as it is without any kind of visual effects or artificial lighting. The scenery in Africa is very epic in its look while using all the people as extras where hopefully, he and the people involved probably gave them some kind of hope in this amazing film.
Even in some of the most intense moments, Meirelle does what is necessary, even in something like he death, he does what a wise director would do. Even in why Justin finds comfort in the gardens he's in that is really metaphoric to what Tessa is doing. Meirelles' directing is truly a remarkable step up from what he achieved in his 2002 film City of God. Charlone meanwhile, in scenes in London and Berlin goes for a grainy, monochrome hand-held style of shooting to give the movie a realistic, dreamy look while his African photography style is exquisitely amazing.
Editor Claire Simpson brings in wonderfully-paced, stylized cutting approach to the film in its 130-minute running time where it doesn't feel very slow. Plus, the non-linear style of the movie doesn't lose itself once the story keeps going. Production designer Mark Tidesley also does well in capturing the authenticity of what Africa looks like from its villages and the surroundings of the rich lifestyle where the government lives as does costume designer Odile Dicks-Mireaux. Finally, there's the exquisitely harrowing, dramatic film score of Alberto Iglesias who brings in the intensity style of a thriller as well as the intense drama of Justin's anguish over Tessa's death. Also there is a great soundtrack of nice African music in the background.
Then there's the film's cast with some wonderful standout performances from the African actors and extras in the film, notably the children who Justin and Tessa would try to help as the audience can hope have a nice future in these troubled times. The film also features some great performances from Archie Panjabi, Anneke Kim Sarnau, Gerard McSorley, Donald Sumpter, Rupert Simonian, and Richard McCabe as the sympathetic, caring allies that Justin and Tessa have while trying to protect each other from their own government. Hubert Kounde is also excellent in the role as Arnold who might be suspected of wrongdoing but we see that he's a wonderful companion with Weisz in his knowledge of Africa while trying to be her partner in helping people.
Pete Postlethwaite is brilliant as a doctor who does all he can to help poor villagers and Africans while taking on children as his assistants as a man who is doing the right thing while living in fear of the knowledge he holds about Tessa's death. Bill Nighy is brilliant as the slimy Bernard Pellegrin who is doing everything he can to cover up his business while giving dark threats to what he wants to do. Nighy deserves a lot of credit for playing a villainous diplomat, especially recently in the recent TV film The Girl in the Café, that was written by Richard Curtis and directed by David Yates, where he plays a mild-mannered diplomat who is under pressure too in trying to save the world. Danny Huston is also excellent in his role as a shady diplomat whose intentions for Tessa is being conflicted with his own political desires. Huston brings a lot of emotional intensity and complexity to a character that could've been done more in a traditional style of writing but there's something more human about in it in Huston's portrayal.
Rachel Weisz gives her most passionate and intense performance as Tessa with a combination of power, spark, warmth, and sadness. Also playing with a prosthetic labor-suit, Weisz brings in a realism and attitude to a great character that has no limits and is very free. In her scenes with Fiennes, we see the warmth that she brings and her frustrations into his lack of support. Ralph Fiennes is extremely brilliant as the mild-mannered turned passionate fighter Justin Quayle. Fiennes brings in a lot of restraint and subtlety early on while struggling with the idea of his wife supposed infidelities and her activism. Fiennes brings a lot more development to the role as he does all he can to help out despite his lack of power and strength.
The Constant Gardener is a superb film from Fernando Meirelles with the amazing performances of Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz. It's a thriller that raises questions into the world of pharmaceuticals as well as how those are profiting from it while ignoring something that could help the world. It's also a film that isn't trying to be heavy-handed in its message though it is balanced by the human drama about man's devotion to his wife. In the end, The Constant Gardener is a marvelous film from Fernando Meirelles.
Fernando Meirelles Films: (O Menino Maluquino 2) - (Domesticas) - City of God - (Blindness) - (360)
© thevoid99 2013
Based on the novel by Paulo Lins, Cidade de Deus (City of God) is a multi-layered story about a young man living in the slums of Rio de Janeiro where he finds himself in the middle of a war between drug dealers that included childhood friends in the 1960s and 1970s. Directed by Fernando Meirelles, with additional work by Katia Lund, and screenplay by Braulio Mantovani, the film is an exploration into the world of crime seen in the eyes of a young man who aspires to become a photographer. Starring Alexandre Rodrigues, Alice Braga, Leandro Firmino, Phellipe Haagensen, Douglas Silva, Jonathan Haagensen, and Seu Jorge. Cidade de Deus is a gripping yet sprawling film from Fernando Meirelles.
The film is a look into the life of crime that eventually led to a bloody drug war between dealers as it is seen in the eyes of a young man from the 1960s and 1970s. Notably as this young man called Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues) sees things up-close and from afar as he tries to lead a straight life in the middle of this chaos as he watches childhood acquaintances in Lil’ Ze (Leandro Firimo) and Bene (Phellipe Haagensen) become dealers as young kids into young adults after taking over from a previous gang. Eventually, Rocket has to watch from afar as Lil’ Ze becomes a leader where he rises while battling it out with another dealer in Carrot (Matheus Natchtergaele) who later gains a dangerous ally in Knockout Ned (Seu Jorge) whom Rocket knows as he captures all of it with his camera.
Braulio Mantovani’s script is mostly reflective since it is told from the perspective of Rocket but it also shows the perspective of characters like Lil’ Ze, Bene, and Knockout Ned as well as some of their back stories. While some of the narrative does jump back-and-forth a bit to give out some exposition about the slums as well as how these characters rose to infamy. The film does start out in the 60s where many of the characters are kids as some are attracted to the world of crime as Lil’ Ze goes from a kid who aids the trio who preceded him only to take things further to an extreme. Lil’ Ze is an interesting character who is a dealer that is very ambitious and also quite cruel in a moment where he gets a young kid to kill another kid. Then there’s Bene who is this laid-back individual who is the only person that can control Lil’ Ze as he is loved by everyone as he just wants people to have a good time.
In the schematics of the script, something happens that would take the film into a new extreme where Lil’ Ze becomes far more ruthless where he would encounter a former Marine turned bus driver in Knockout Ned that leads into trouble. Especially since Knockout Ned is a man who didn’t want to be part of the war but because Lil’ Ze killed his little brother, he ends up siding with Carrot. For Rocket who finally attains a position in a newspaper by getting some pictures in the actual slums. He not only raises Lil’ Ze’s notoriety but also finds himself in danger as he finds some startling revelations into the kind of forces that are aiding these dealers. What Mantovani does with the script is unveil not just the way the drug world operates but also the fact that a guy like Rocket is living in a world that is far more troubled than he realizes where he’s one of the few people out there that stands for what is good in the world no matter how flawed he is.
Fernando Meirelles’ direction is truly stylish in the way he presents the film as he opens the film with this intricate yet mesmerizing sequence that involves a chicken face and Rocket finding himself in the middle of what is to be a gun battle that would become the film’s climax. A lot of the direction includes some hand-held camera work that is a bit shaky at times but very engaging for the way it showcases a world that is quite unforgiving. There’s a lot of robberies in a world that is very poor while violence is often very rampant but there’s also moments where things can be cool. It’s like the Wild West except in a world that is very different where there’s a beach, there’s drugs, cool music, and lots of beautiful ladies. It’s also a place where young kids can even get the chance to rise up in the world and become criminals.
With the help of Katia Lund, Meirelles creates a film that is filled with an element of style as it plays to certain periods of time where the look of the film is quite crucial where the first act in the 1960s is very sunny. Notably as it is set in a world where it looks like a desert in a town that is yet to be developed and by the time it goes into the 1970s, the look is more colorful with its mixture of trees, beaches, and all sorts of locations. Meirelles’ approach to the violence is definitely gritty and confrontational where it’s very bloody at times but also visceral in its impact. Even to the point where a child or an innocent person can get killed as Meirelles isn’t afraid to show that darkness of that world. Overall, Meirelles creates a very intense and harrowing film about a young man’s view of a dark world.
Cinematographer Cesar Charlone does great work with the film‘s very stylized cinematography from the gorgeous, sunny look of the 1960s daytime scenes to the more colorful yet gritty look of the scenes at night and in daytime scenes set in the 1970s. Editor Daniel Rezende does brilliant work with the editing by emphasizing on style with fast-paced cutting to capture the intensity of the action as well as some more methodical cuts for the low-key moments. Production designer Tule Peak does excellent work with the set pieces to play up the different time periods that occur from some of the decayed look of the slums to the eerie look of the base that the lead dealers live in.
Costume designers Bia and Ines Salgado do wonderful work with the costumes to play up the different time periods of the film as well as maintaining that sense of grit in the characters. Sound designer Martin Hernandez does amazing work with the sound to capture the air of violence in some of the film‘s darker moments as well as some of the atmosphere in the party scenes. The film’s music by Ed Cortes and Antonio Pinto is brilliant for its use of Brazilian-based music to set a dark mood while its soundtrack is a mix of samba, folk, disco, rock, and fun that is just truly one of the best soundtracks out there.
The film’s cast is just flat-out spectacular as it features some noteworthy small roles from Graziella Moretto as a journalist who hires Rocket, Charles Parventi as an arms dealer, Darlan Cunha as an addict Lil’ Ze hires, Thiago Martins and Otavio as young leaders of an adolescents-based gang known as the Runts, and Matheus Natchtergaele as the drug lord Carrot. In the roles of the first gang known as the Tenderness Trio, there’s Renato de Souza as Rocket’s older brother Goose, Jefechander Suplino as Clipper, and Jonathan Haagensen as Bene’s older brother Shaggy who is the leader of the gang who later gets into trouble. Alice Braga is wonderful as Angelica who becomes an object of affection for Rocket as she later becomes Bene’s girlfriend while Daniel Zettel is very good as Angelica’s former boyfriend Tiago who later becomes part of Lil’ Ze’s gang.
Seu Jorge is fantastic as the badass Knockout Ned who goes after Lil’ Ze over what some family deaths as he becomes an intimidating figure with a sense of compassion as he tries to fight for the people. Phellipe Haagensen is great as the laid-back Bene who is Lil’ Ze’s right-hand man who becomes the most fashionable dude in the land as he strives to get people to chill out and have fun. For the role of Lil’ Ze, there’s Douglas Silva in a brilliant performance as the young Lil’ Ze known as Lil’ Dice who is just brutal while Leandro Firmino is amazing as Lil’ Ze as this very ruthless motherfucker who is just intent on being the king of the drug world. Finally, there’s Alexandre Rodrigues and Luis Otavio in their roles as Rocket with the latter being the young adolescent who is struggling to maintain a straight path in a dark world as it’s a superb performance from Otavio. In the role of the older Rocket, Rodrigues is marvelous as this young man trying to make it through the world in a honest way as he deals with the same struggles the world of crime offers.
Cidade de Deus is a magnificent film from Fernando Meirelles. Armed with a brilliant ensemble cast, outstanding technical work, and a kick-ass soundtrack. The film is clearly among one of the great crime films to come out in the 2000s as well as a look into how a young man tries to steer away from the world of chaos while capturing it with his camera. It’s a film that is definitely unforgiving in the way violence is portrayed while taking a view into a world that is off-kilter yet thrilling. In the end, Cidade de Deus is a phenomenal film from Fernando Meirelles.
Fernando Meirelles Films: (O Menino Maluquino 2) - (Domesticas) - The Constant Gardener - (Blindness) - (360)
© thevoid99 2013
