To comprehend the most expected Brazilian movie of the year is not an easy task. Full of external references, deep dialogues and hidden meanings to be discovered by the public, Bacurau is one of those productions you should watch at least twice.
The story happens in a near future, in a simple small city located inside Brazil’s confines, named Bacurau. There, technology has advanced a lot, but very archaic problems are still a reality: while the characters can vote in an electrical device at home, the lack of water in the northeast countryside is even worse than nowadays.
In this very typical and insignificant town, however, strange things start happening. One day, a teacher wants to show to his students Bacurau in the map, but he cannot find it: the city has disappeared. This is the begin of a terrifying mysteries sequence, which has surprising explanations.
It is important to understand the context in which Bacurau was produced. Last year, the majority of the Brazilian population decided to elect a far-right president, who has a violent speeches about minorities and his opposition in general. Besides that, he is favorable to the population’s gun bearing, does not believe in climate change and is making a diplomacy full of controverses and poor debates.
Bacurau represents a Brazil that is the result of these years, and that’s why it is able to impress so many people, once it is possible to recognize in the movie many things that are already happening in a certain way – if not totally, but at least partly.
The movie was directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles, and conquered de Jury Prize in Cannes this year. Considering the Brazilian film production in general, Bacurau is a very unusual kind: it has sci-fi and bang-bang references at the same time. In some points reminds a Tarantino movie, in others it looks like a part of the Star Wars’ saga. Besides that, Bacurau has an oniric symbology.
Many elements, dialogues and the representation of delusions felt by the characters has traces of psycho thrillers, such as Mother!.This unique gender choice is used to transpass national literary and cultural references. For instance, there’s no main character, being Bacurau centralized in the spot. This is a reference of traditional books from the Brazilian naturalism, such as O Cortiço. Also, the strong presence of the Cangaço’s heritage is represented inside the bang-bang’s context, which is completely original and has no precedents.
Returning to the political message, Bacurau brings, immersed in this singular construction, discussions that are getting each time harder because of the political events that we, Brazilians, have been through: what being a Brazilian, in a far-right collapsed society, actually means? Are we all the same for the foreign, or depending on the region we were born at we have differences of treatment? What is the path to resistance?
Movies like that are fairly considered pieces of art. Beyond this, Bacurau can be seen as a historical document of this hard times Brazil has been through. It is totally worth to watch – not once or twice, but many times during your lifetime.