Bacurau, 2019
A truck winds its way down a rural road. The driver and passenger are startled and disturbed to come across a horrible accident in which a motorcyclist has been killed and a truck has spilled coffins all over the road. Accompanying the man and woman in the truck, we are introduced to Bacurau, a small town in rural Brazil. The town's matriarch has just passed away, the town is constantly abuzz with rumors about various political "outlaws", and one day the citizens notice that their town no longer shows up on Google Maps or any other GPS device. As strange events begin to stack up, the townspeople must work together to understand the threat to their town.
This is one of those films that is hard to discuss in a review because there is a major plot turn (I'm not saying "twist", just an important, significant reveal) about one-third or halfway through the film. And I absolutely would not want to give away details for anyone who has not yet seen the film.
So staying as vague as possible, I will just say that I slightly preferred the film when things were more mysterious, and I enjoyed it a little less once it explained certain things. There is a degree of cliche to the place where the plot goes, and I felt as if there were more potential to the set-up than what the film ultimately delivered.
That said, while it would be easy to focus on the big "swings" that the film takes, what I appreciated the most about it were the little moments in which it explored its themes. In one sequence, certain characters tell fair-skinned Brazilians that they "aren't white". Defensively, the Brazilians argue that they are different from the townspeople. It's a really nice moment (in a conversation that, overall, is not very subtle) pointing to the way that even within subgroups, people will create hierarchies.
The style of the film is very bold. Scenes transition with stark horizontal or vertical wipes. And this sort of fits with the overall vibe of the film. This is a very direct (if also allegorical) critique of colonialism, abuse of power, and controlling governments. There is nothing subtle about a sequence in which the mayor parades into town with a large truck bearing his image, tells the people he cares about them, and has a load of old books literally brought in by dump truck and unceremoniously plopped down in the dirt outside of the schoolhouse. Nor is there anything subtle when the mayor takes a local woman with him for sex, despite her not wanting to go with him. Adding insult to injury, the woman is forced to walk back to her town after he is done with her. And where the film goes in its second half is far less subtle than anything I have just described.
I read a critique in another review that the film did not have a main character. I sort of agree, though I'm not sure if that is a problem. The town functions almost like an ecosystem, and to me it seems that the town itself is the main character. Each character has their place, such as the local man who serves as a sort of radio station, broadcasting music and commentary from a loudspeaker in his truck, including notes like "Juan, pick up your phone. Rosa is calling you and she knows you're just down the road." A standout is a character named Domingas (Sonia Braga), the town doctor and a woman we first meet on a drunken rant at the matriarch's funeral.
This film was different than what I expected. I'm still mulling it over, and especially how well I think it worked toward its resolution. But as of now my impression is favorable and I would certainly recommend it.
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