Desapega! (2023)
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Why watch this film?
Typical and friendly Brazilian comedy, which deals with the relationship between mother and daughter, 'Desapega!' has a fun premise: Rita (Gloria Pires), after seven years of being controlled by her shopping addiction, takes the lead of a support group for compulsive buyers to help others get back on their feet. Everything is going well: she has a new professional horizon, helps others, is in balance and even started a new romance with Otávio (Marcos Pasquim). Only things change when Duda (Maisa), her only daughter and best friend, reveals that she has plans to leave home. From then on, director Hsu Chien ('Nobody In, Nobody Out') talks about these challenges of maturity, the pains of growing up children and how difficult it is sometimes to change routine. At times, the film falls into unnecessary slapstick, losing its tone. But in the end, it's still a friendly production that pleases the general public.
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Rita must learn to deal with her increased shopping compulsion after the news that her daughter wants to leave.
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From the same director
Veneza
"Veneza", the second movie directed by Miguel Falabella, is one of those "8 or 80" stories. It's easy to turn up your nose at the plot of a group of highly fetishized prostitutes, which unfolds in various stories. On one side, there is the elderly Gringa (Carmen Maura) who dreams of going to Venice to find her old love. There is also the powerful romance between Madalena (Carol Castro) and Júlio (Caio Manhente), an unacknowledged transgender woman. And there are some other stories underneath, but they almost don't add up in "Veneza": the illiterate prostitute (Danielle Winits), the handyman (Eduardo Moscovis), the sick girl (Maria Eduarda de Carvalho), etc. The plot, adapted from an Argentine play by Jorge Accame, smells of mothballs and doesn't know its limits. More care was needed when talking about prostitution, treating the profession almost idyllically, as well as sensitivity when talking about sexuality. But on the other hand, it is possible to be moved and to find humor especially in the story of this old blind woman with some delusions, who dreams of going to the flooded region of Italy - the final sequence, playing with the imagination of theater, circus and cinema, is beautiful. Perhaps there was a lack of greater cohesion in the story, which immediately assumes its novelistic tone, and an update to still make sense today. What cannot be questioned is the quality of the cast, especially in the strength of Maura, the delicacy of Manhente and the magnetism of seeing Carol Castro on stage. A difficult film to assimilate and to reach a conclusion. Maybe it's better to just be taken by the challenging gondola of "Veneza".
Quem Vai Ficar com Mário?
"Who Will Stay with Mario?" is a Brazilian adaptation of the Italian film "O Primeiro que Disse". The feature follows exactly what director Hsu Chien has done over the years with the bestial comedy "Ninguém Entra, Ninguém Sai" and the shorts that put him in the spotlight in national cinema. It is a comedy about sexuality, quite simple and direct to the point, about a boy (Daniel Rocha) who wants to reveal to his father that he is gay. But before him, his brother comes out of the closet and his father almost has a heart attack. That's when the dilemma of the movie comes in: should he reveal his sexuality to his family, even after his brother? To sprinkle this plot, there is also the arrival of an attractive woman (Letícia Lima) who steals the attention of the protagonist, who starts to be in doubt if he really loves his boyfriend (Felipe Abib) or if he wants the new suitor. On the one hand, Chien brings an updated and much more modern plot than the original Italian one, about bisexuality and even polyamory. The negative point is in Rocha's conduct throughout the plot, with an acting that borders on a 2000s comic sketch with beaten stereotypes, and the strange direction, closer to the end, about the "choice" of sexuality. At least there is Nany People in the cast, making a funny and memorable pair with José Victor Castiel.
Me Tira da Mira
If there's a family movie, it's 'Me Tira da Mira'. Although it is directed by Hsu Chien ('Nobody In, Nobody Out'), Cléo (formerly Pires) is the protagonist and also signs the production of the feature. In the plot, she is obsessed with discovering what lies behind the death of actress Antuérpia Fox (Vera Fischer) and, alongside her ex-boyfriend (Sérgio Guizé) and the psychologist (played by Bruna Ciocca), tries to unravel a network of crimes and, simultaneously, prove herself as a competent police officer. And what makes 'Me Tira da Mira' a family movie? Well, simple: brother Fiuk and father Fábio Jr. share screen time. And this is the greatest achievement of 'Me Tira da Mira': the jokes with the titles of Fábio Jr.'s songs and the trio's antics on screen, which show good dynamics on the screen. The feature does not reinvent the wheel - on the contrary, it pays homage to the past, to films like 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith' - but knows how to play with stereotypes and clichés. Of course, there are exaggerations here (such as the role of the psychologist, for no reason at all). But in the end, 'Me Tira da Mira' reveals itself as an enjoyable pastime for those who already enjoy national cinema comedies.
Comedy
La ley de Herodes
After the corrupt former Mayor is killed by the peasants, poor janitor Juan Vargas is appointed new Mayor of a desert town in central Mexico. Although he tries to bring the motto of the ruling party to town (modernity, peace and progress) he realizes soon that there's nothing to do against corruption... except to become corrupt. Step by step, helped by his pistol, Juan Vargas becomes the law and the worst Major in the town's history
¡Que viva México!
After his grandfather's death, a man travels with his wife and kids to his hometown, where chaos ensues with his relatives over the inheritance.
