In the small location of "Linha Cristal" ("Crystal Line") in countryside of the Rio Grande do Sul (in Southern Brazil), the locals under the leadership of Marina (Fernanda Torres), her father Otaviano Marghera (Paulo José) and her husband Joaquim (Wagner Moura) are demanding the provision of a sanitation system estimated in eight thousand Reais to clean the polluted Crystal Creek. However, in the city hall, the secretary Marcela (Janaína Kremer) explains that there is no budget available for the sewerage; however, she tells that there is a budget of ten thousand Reais for the making of a 10 minutes fiction video. The practical Marina decides to make the short to raise the money to build the sewerage, but she misunderstands the meaning of the genre fiction, believing it should be a sci-fi with monster. She writes the screenplay, using her husband in the role of the monster; her foster sister Silene (Camila Pitanga) in the lead female role; and Silene's boyfriend Fabrício (Bruno Garcia) in the role of the "good guy" and seeks sponsors. However the group does not know how to make a movie, and as far as they learn, they switch their main concern to the short forgetting the sanitation system.
"Saneamento Básico, O Filme" is a different movie of the great Brazilian director Jorge Furtado. He returns to the central theme of his successful and awarded short "Ilha das Flores" (1989), a documentary about pollution with a devastating and overwhelming social critic to the modern Brazilian society, but associated to cinema. Unfortunately the result is irregular, with good but also unnecessary moments. The plot gives lessons of how to write a screenplay, the importance of edition, production, costumes and many other phases of the making off a feature or short; criticizes the opportunism of the politicians; has an ecological message; and the acting is excellent, with a perfect Fernanda Torres. However, the story is too long and incoherent in some aspects and the conclusion is pointless; for example, the long scene of Joaquim riding his motorcycle is absolutely unnecessary and boring; Marina has college level and she does not know the meaning of fiction or mythology, but suggests genetic mutation to explain the origins of the monster; they are rednecks descendant of Italian but uses Billie Holiday in the soundtrack of the last scene of their short. Last but not the least, everybody profits with the successful short but the village ends without the aimed sewerage, and I did not understand the point. But anyway I liked this entertaining movie. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Saneamento Básico, O Filme" ("Sanitation, the Movie")
"Saneamento Básico, O Filme" is a different movie of the great Brazilian director Jorge Furtado. He returns to the central theme of his successful and awarded short "Ilha das Flores" (1989), a documentary about pollution with a devastating and overwhelming social critic to the modern Brazilian society, but associated to cinema. Unfortunately the result is irregular, with good but also unnecessary moments. The plot gives lessons of how to write a screenplay, the importance of edition, production, costumes and many other phases of the making off a feature or short; criticizes the opportunism of the politicians; has an ecological message; and the acting is excellent, with a perfect Fernanda Torres. However, the story is too long and incoherent in some aspects and the conclusion is pointless; for example, the long scene of Joaquim riding his motorcycle is absolutely unnecessary and boring; Marina has college level and she does not know the meaning of fiction or mythology, but suggests genetic mutation to explain the origins of the monster; they are rednecks descendant of Italian but uses Billie Holiday in the soundtrack of the last scene of their short. Last but not the least, everybody profits with the successful short but the village ends without the aimed sewerage, and I did not understand the point. But anyway I liked this entertaining movie. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Saneamento Básico, O Filme" ("Sanitation, the Movie")