HECTOR BABENCO

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBBB.

Brazil/Argentina, 2003.  BR Petrobrás, Columbia TriStar Filmes do Brasil, Globo Filmes, HB Filmes, Lereby Productions, Oscar Kramer S.A..  Screenplay by Hector Babenco, Fernando Bonassi, Victor Navas, based on the book Estacao Carandiru by Drauzio Varella.  Cinematography by Walter Carvalho.  Produced by Hector Babenco, Oscar Kramer, Rui Pires.  Music by Andre Abujamra.  Production Design by Clovis Bueno.  Costume Design by Cristina Camargo.  Film Editing by Mauro Alice.  

The massacre that took place at the infamous Sao Paolo prison is captured in this excellent drama by Hector Babenco. Filmed in the actual location before it was demolished, the film follows a fantastic ensemble of actors as they live, survive, fall in love, engage in vicious conflicts and try to maintain their ties to the outside world during their sentence at Carandiru prison. Their situation escalates until an all-out massacre finds troops entering the prison and gunning down unarmed inmates without discrimination, a tragic bloodbath that made headlines in 1992. Babenco does a fantastic job of showing the degrading circumstances that these men live in while also including the joy that they find in their daily lives.

Cannes Film Festival:  In Competition

Toronto International Film Festival:  2003