Movies
Brazilian prisons are popular film and docu material. Carandiru takes its time to introduce a rather broad main cast and builds up towards a violent showdown in the second half. There are some good moments here, but also some less that stellar melodrama that makes it hard to become fully captivated by the film.
There are some interesting scenes here, but the core was a little disappointing. The first part in particular is terribly slow, with a mediocre performance by Hurt, who fails to make something interesting of his character. I was hoping for something with a bit more flair and spirit. The second half is better, but not enough to save the film. The drama remains a bit flakey and it's only the dream sequences that up the quality. The runtime doesn't help, but a different lead actor could've made a big difference. It's not the worst film that was ever nominated for an Academy Award, but the potential was there to do a lot better.Read all