Rio Verlmelho Filmes/Columbia TriStar Filmes do Brasil/Globo Filmes
TORONTO -- Despite an amusing premise full of possibilities, Carlos Diegues' "God Is Brazilian" (Deus e Brasileiro) is a protracted and belabored road comedy. Theatrical prospects outside of Portuguese-speaking territories and film festivals are slight.
Taoca (Wagner Moura), a simple fisherman and minor scam artist, encounters a spry, white-haired old guy (Antonio Fagundes), who claims to be God. After a few "magic tricks" force Taoca at least to half believe The Old Man, he accompanies God on a journey through the Brazilian countryside.
It seems God has tired of the folly humans have made out of his once perfect creation and wants a vacation. He needs to find a saint to take over for him while away. Despite the fact Brazil has never had a saint, he believes he can find his man in a particular river town.
Along the way, a lonely young woman named Mada (Paloma Duarte) joins the two, believing they will take her to Sao Paulo, where her beloved mother died.
The trio's adventures are as trivial as they are repetitive. God's philosophical asides are neither witty nor insightful. The portrait of Brazil's impoverished interior is vivid, yet many previous Brazilian films have explored this territory including Diegues' own fondly remembered "Bye Bye Brazil" in 1979. Making things all the more tedious, the actors fail to expand their roles much beyond the opening scenes as they more or less play the same notes throughout the film.
TORONTO -- Despite an amusing premise full of possibilities, Carlos Diegues' "God Is Brazilian" (Deus e Brasileiro) is a protracted and belabored road comedy. Theatrical prospects outside of Portuguese-speaking territories and film festivals are slight.
Taoca (Wagner Moura), a simple fisherman and minor scam artist, encounters a spry, white-haired old guy (Antonio Fagundes), who claims to be God. After a few "magic tricks" force Taoca at least to half believe The Old Man, he accompanies God on a journey through the Brazilian countryside.
It seems God has tired of the folly humans have made out of his once perfect creation and wants a vacation. He needs to find a saint to take over for him while away. Despite the fact Brazil has never had a saint, he believes he can find his man in a particular river town.
Along the way, a lonely young woman named Mada (Paloma Duarte) joins the two, believing they will take her to Sao Paulo, where her beloved mother died.
The trio's adventures are as trivial as they are repetitive. God's philosophical asides are neither witty nor insightful. The portrait of Brazil's impoverished interior is vivid, yet many previous Brazilian films have explored this territory including Diegues' own fondly remembered "Bye Bye Brazil" in 1979. Making things all the more tedious, the actors fail to expand their roles much beyond the opening scenes as they more or less play the same notes throughout the film.
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