Monday, May 25, 2020

Once Upon a Time in Rio 2008

     Rio de Janeiro has a two-tiered society, the upper level is Ipanema Beach and the lower level is the South Zone of the Cantagalo slum.  The divisions in the city are dominant and divided by prejudice and economic differences.  The working class cleans apartments, staffs restaurants and they sell food.  De lives with his mother in a cramped apartment and he sells hot dogs on the beach.  This area is surrounded by crime and hardship.  Nina is the only child of a successful lawyer and he is not happy when he learns about De, Nina's new boyfriend.  De and Nina begin to learn that everything is against them and their romance.

     There is nothing new except the location in this Romeo and Juliet plot.  You do become connected to the characters but the end is inevitable.  I was not sold on the idea of their true love because of their lack of chemistry together?  This film was good enough to stand alone without the heavy reliance on the Romeo and Juliet inspiration.  Veering somewhat away from the original inspiration would have been a better idea overall.  The views are very beautiful and the 2014 World Cup was held in Brazil.   3* (This movie is OK)

117, Drama directed by Breno Silveria and written by Patricia Andrade and Domingos de Oliveria with Thiago Martins, Cyria Coentro, Rocco Pitanga, Vitória Frate, Paulo César Grande, Rocco Pitanga, Luana Schneider, Fernando Brito, Rodrigo Costa.

Note:  Imdb 7.1 out of 10 with 1,1612 reviews, 84% audience with 340 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, Google 97% liked this movie, Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 24 ratings, Letterboxd 3.4* out of 5*.


Special Note:  The World Cup only generated about 0.4% of additional gross domestic product for Brazil over a 10-year period.  There were gains in sales for beverages, travel, construction and broadcast companies.  The costs were thought to be the highest in the history of the FIFA World Cup up to this date.  The total was an estimated $11.6 billion until surpassed by the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia with an estimated cost of $14.2 billion.  The World Cup does improve the quality of life for those living in in host cities.  But that can be due to new and modern facilities, employment opportunities, increase in police presence and efforts to curtail crime to make host cities look safe.  In Brazil the tournament lasted 32 days and in the long term there was no real affect.  The citizens became more divided and Brazil was left with an almost useless infrastructure?    

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