Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho
With Wagner Moura, Maria Fernanda Candido, Gabriel Leone
Rated R, 161 minutes
In English, German, and Portuguese with English subtitles
Kleber Mendonça Filho (Aquarius, Bacurau, Pictures of Ghosts) often pulls from his experiences growing up in northern Brazil, specifically Recife, to create films that are both firmly about a particular part of Brazil and yet tremendously universalizable. His latest captured both awards and many fans at the Cannes Film Festival before its recent string of wins at the Golden Globes and now four Oscar nominations. With similarities to the Brazilian film I'm Still Here from 2024, Filho also dives into recent history to explore how dictatorships play out. In 1977, Marcelo (Wagner Moura), a technology expert in his early 40s, is on the run. Hoping to reunite with his son, he travels to Recife during Carnival, but he soon realizes that the city is not the safe haven he was expecting.