''Carandiru'' is a 2003 Brazilian
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
directed by
Héctor Babenco
Héctor Eduardo Babenco (February 7, 1946July 13, 2016) was an Argentine-Brazilian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor who worked in several countries including Brazil, Argentina, and the United States. He was one of the first Braz ...
. It is based on the book ''
Estação Carandiru'' by
Dr. Drauzio Varella, a physician and
AIDS specialist, who is portrayed in the film by
Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos
Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos (born 25 June 1954) is a Brazilian actor.
Selected filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
1954 births
Living people
Brazilian male film actors
{{Brazil-actor-stub ...
.
''Carandiru'' tells some of the stories that occurred in
Carandiru Penitentiary, which was the biggest prison in
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
. The story culminates with the
1992 massacre where 111 prisoners were killed, 102 by Police. The film was the last thing for which the prison was used before it was demolished in 2002, one year before the release of the film.
Babenco stated that ''Carandiru'' is the “most realistic film
e’sever made",
presenting a new kind of Brazilian realism inspired by
Cinema Novo (not only is it meant to portray different sides of Brazil, but it was also shot on location and used many actual prisoners as actors).
Due to this focus on portraying reality and the film's memoir inspiration, ''Carandiru'' can be read as a
docudrama or as a testimony from the prisoners.
Plot
This episodic story is set in
São Paulo's notorious prison Carandiru, one of Latin America's largest and most violent prison systems.
''Carandiru'' tells the stories of different inmates at Sāo Paulo's Carandiru Penitentiary through the filter of Dr. Varella, who goes to the prison to test the inmates for
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
. Similar to many Brazilian crime films, Dr. Varella narrates ''Carandiru'', however, it is not his story that is told. He (like Buscapé in ''
City of God'') acts as a filter for the stories of those that cannot speak.
The inhumane conditions of the prison, such as the 100 square foot cells inhabited by sometimes up to 16 prisoners, are shown, as well as the lack of control that the guards have. Order in the prison is entirely controlled by the prisoners themselves, which leads them to face problems such as murders, rampant drug use, and disease all within the prison.
Several stories are developed, ranging from drug addiction to murder to family struggles to romance. Some of the more memorable stories are Lady Di (a transwoman) and No Way's marriage, Deusdete and Zico's family dynamic, Ezequiel and Zico's crack addictions, and Majestade's “affairs.”
The prisoners are humanized to the audience by telling their stories, which makes the riot and the
Carandiru Massacre even more painful for the audience to watch. Thus, when the film ends with real shots of Carandiru Penitentiary's demolition, Babenco employs catharsis.
[
]
Themes
Innocence
At one point during the film, Ebony sarcastically asks Dr. Varella if he's noticed that all the inmates of Carandiru are innocent. All the inmates do see themselves as innocent, which speaks to the idea that the prisoners see themselves as people forced into crime. In this sense, Carandiru employs Dr. Varella as a social mediator who listens to all versions of the prisoners' truths, allowing the audience a glimpse into their world, prompting the audience to see the incarcerated from a different perspective. By giving the prisoners a voice, Carandiru gives the prisoners a chance to tell their stories without facing judgment.
Morality
The theme of morality plays very closely to the theme of innocence in Carandiru. While some of the characters are literally innocent, others (who are guilty) commit their crimes for potentially moral reasons. Deusdete (who has no history of crime) shoots one of the men who raped his sister. Another example is Majestade, who takes the blame for his wife's crime. Majestade, though guilty of having two wives that only sort of know about each other (and are not very happy with that), is not guilty of arson and attempted murder (which is what he is in prison for).
Law systems
While the focus of Carandiru is humanizing the prisoners, it still emphasizes the flawed Brazilian legal system and the prisoners' own legal system. Deusdete, who murders a man for raping his sister, originally wants to report the rape to the police. However, his friends advise him not to, because the police will not take his allegation seriously, and will not look to punish the rapists. Thus, Deusdete feels the need to take matters into his own hand, creating his own “legal system.” The idea of creating a “legal system,” or “prisoner code of honor” fascinates Babenco, who stated that the code of honor was one of the most interesting aspects of the film.[ This highlights a problem rampant in the post-colony – that of indirect government in both the streets and the prisons.
]
Brutality vs. Civilization
The focus on unfair law systems comes into play during the actual massacre during the climax of the film. The prisoners end their revolt and surrender all their makeshift weapons at the request of the prison warden. However, the police force storms the complex anyhow, killing hundreds of defenseless prisoners. The police are illustrated as monsters, killing simply to kill, forcing the audience to question whether the police or the prisoners are more civil. With that, Carandiru illuminates that Brazil has two civilizations, both of which are brutal: those who live under the governmental law and those who live under their own set of laws.
Cast
* Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos
Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos (born 25 June 1954) is a Brazilian actor.
Selected filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
1954 births
Living people
Brazilian male film actors
{{Brazil-actor-stub ...
as Dr. Drauzio Varella
Antônio Drauzio Varella (Brazilian Portuguese: ; born May 3, 1943 in São Paulo, Brazil) is a Brazilian doctor, educator, scientist and medical science popularizer in the press and TV, as well as best-selling author. In addition to medicine, ...
* Rodrigo Santoro as Lady Di
* Milton Gonçalves
Milton Gonçalves (; 9 December 1933 – 30 May 2022) was a Brazilian actor and television director, who was one of the most famous black actors in Brazil, having collaborated twice with acclaimed director Héctor Babenco. One notable role with ...
as Chico
* Lázaro Ramos as Ezequiel
* Caio Blat
Caio Blat de Oliveira (born 2 June 1980) is a Brazilian actor.
Biography
Blat was born in São Paulo, Brazil. He studied law at the University of São Paulo, the largest and one of the most prestigious universities in Brazil, but dropped out be ...
as Deusdete
* Milhem Cortaz
Milhem Cortaz (born December 6, 1971) is a Brazilian actor.
Career
Cortaz' first role came on the 2000 film ''Mater Dei'', written by Diogo Mainardi, where he portrayed a security guard. On 2002, he premiered on the television with a minor char ...
as Peixeira
* Wagner Moura
Wagner Maniçoba de Moura (; born 27 June 1976) is a Brazilian actor, director, filmmaker, musician, and journalist. Wagner started his career doing theater in Salvador, where he worked with renowned directors, and soon scored some appearances ...
as Zico
* Floriano Peixoto
Floriano Vieira Peixoto ( 30 April 1839 – 29 June 1895), born in Ipioca (today a district of the city of Maceió in the State of Alagoas), nicknamed the "Iron Marshal", was a Brazilian soldier and politician, a veteran of the Paraguay ...
as Antônio Carlos
* Rita Cadillac as Herself
* Gero Camilo as No Way
* Ivan de Almeida as Ebony
* Ailton Graça as Majestade
* Maria Luisa Mendonça
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
* 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
*Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, d ...
as Dalva
* Aida Leiner as Rosirene
* Júlia Ianina as Francineide
* Sabrina Greve as Catarina
* Nelson Machado as Carioca
* Dionisio Neto como Lula
* Leona Cavalli as Dina
* Sérgio Loroza as Gordo
* Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...
as Fuinha
Background
Director Héctor Babenco shot the film on location in the actual penitentiary, and in neo-realist fashion he used a huge cast of novice actors — some of whom are former inmates.
Distribution
The film was first presented at the ''II Panorama Internacional Coisa de Cinema'' in Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
on March 21, 2003. It opened wide in Brazil on April 11, 2003. It was the highest-grossing Brazilian film of the year and third overall (behind '' Bruce Almighty'' and ''The Matrix Reloaded
''The Matrix Reloaded'' is a 2003 American science-fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is a sequel to '' The Matrix'' (1999) and the second installment in the ''Matrix'' film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Lau ...
''), attracting over 4.6 million spectators.
Later the film was entered into the 2003 Cannes Film Festival
The 56th Cannes Film Festival started on 14 May and ran until 25 May 2003. French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor and producer Patrice Chéreau was the President of the Jury. The Palme d'Or went to the American film ''Elephant'' by G ...
in France on May 19.
The picture was screened at various film festivals, including: the Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
, Canada; the Hamburg Film Festival, Germany; the Edda Film Festival, Ireland; the Muestra Internacional de Cine, Mexico; the Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
, United States; the Bangkok International Film Festival
The Bangkok International Film Festival (BKKIFF) ( th, เทศกาลภาพยนตร์นานาชาติกรุงเทพฯ) is an international film festival held annually in Bangkok, Thailand, since 2003. In addition to fi ...
, Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
; and others.
In the United States it opened on a limited basis on May 14, 2004.
Critical reception
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
, critic of the ''Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
,'' appreciated the realism of the drama, and wrote, "Hector Babenco's ''Carandiru'' is a drama that adds a human dimension ...Dantean vision. Shot on location inside a notorious prison in São Paulo, it shows 8,000 men jammed into space meant for 2,000 and enforcing their own laws in a place their society has abandoned. The film, based on life, climaxes with a 1992 police attack on the prison during which 111 inmates were killed...he film
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
is a reminder that although Carandiru has disappeared, prison conditions in Brazil continue to be inhuman."
Stephen Holden, film critic for ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', liked the film and its social message, and wrote, "Despite its confusion and the broadness of many of its strokes, the movie belongs to a Latin American tradition of heartfelt social realism in which the struggles of ordinary people assume a heroic dimension. The film is undeniably the work of an artist with the strength to gaze into the abyss and return, his humanity fortified."
Critic Jamie Russell wrote, "Making his point without resorting to liberal hand-wringing, Babenco charts the climactic violence with steely detachment. Brutal, bloody, and far from brief, it's shocking enough to make us realise that this jailhouse hell really is no city of God."[Russell, Jamie. Ibid.]
Awards
Wins
* Havana Film Festival
The Havana Film Festival is a Cuban festival that focuses on the promotion of Latin American filmmakers. It is also known in Spanish as ''Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana,'' and in English as International Festiva ...
: Audience Award; Glauber Rocha Award; House of the Americas Award; OCIC Award; Radio Havana Award; aúl Yelín Award; Special Jury Prize; all for Héctor Babenco; 2003.
* Cinema Brazil: Cinema Brazil Grand Prize; Best Adapted Screenplay, Héctor Babenco, Fernando Bonassi, and Victor Navas; Best Director, Héctor Babenco; 2004.
* Cartagena Film Festival
The Cartagena Film Festival ( es, Festival Internacional de Cine de Cartagena de Indias), or FICCI, is a film festival held in Cartagena, Colombia, which focuses mainly on the promotion of Colombian television series, Latin American films and short ...
, Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
: Golden India Catalina; Best Film, Héctor Babenco; 2004.
* ABC Cinematography Award, Brazil: ABC Trophy Feature Film; Best Sound, Romeu Quinto, Miriam Biderman, and Reilly Steele; 2004.
References
External links
* official web site
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carandiru (Film)
2003 films
2003 crime drama films
Argentine crime drama films
Argentine independent films
Argentine LGBT-related films
Brazilian crime drama films
Brazilian independent films
Brazilian LGBT-related films
Films set in São Paulo
Films shot in São Paulo
Films based on non-fiction books
Films directed by Héctor Babenco
Films set in 1992
Gay-related films
Italian crime drama films
Italian independent films
Italian LGBT-related films
2000s Portuguese-language films
2000s prison drama films
Social realism in film
Sony Pictures Classics films
Films about trans women
Carandiru Penitentiary
2003 independent films
2003 LGBT-related films
2000s Argentine films