After watching many documentaries about prisons and inmates, I think this movie gets top marks for poor acting and useless subplots. Rodrigo Santoro as Lady Di, and Milton Gonçalves as Chico demonstrated good acts, but everyone else performed poorly.
Carandiru highlights a 1992 riot and its consequences which only occurs in the climax. Thats alright, but we are not offered any comparisons or standards to let us know if excessive force was used, and if prisoners (always in party mood) were justified in rioting.
Throughout we are subjected to irrelevant subplots -- none relevant to the climax. How does individual resentment build up against authorities? Yes the living conditions are horrible but most inmates seem well adjusted to prison life. When one knife goes missing, Ebony (who doesn't project good leadership or charisma) threatens that one man will die everyday, yet in the climax we see hundreds of shanks falling out of windows.
In any prison, the relationship between guards and inmates can give a hint of what is going wrong, and if early prevention was required. Prisoners' reaction to control tactics employed by staff is valuable. Finally portrayal of dynamics among inmates are important. For example, inmates cooperating with staff is generally looked down at but here Ebony is a leader. By my standards, "The Shawshank Redemption" is the best example of a prison movie.
My main gripe is that the movie doesn't build up to the final tension leading to the riot. Needed more research on prisons and less of fantastic camera-work.
Carandiru highlights a 1992 riot and its consequences which only occurs in the climax. Thats alright, but we are not offered any comparisons or standards to let us know if excessive force was used, and if prisoners (always in party mood) were justified in rioting.
Throughout we are subjected to irrelevant subplots -- none relevant to the climax. How does individual resentment build up against authorities? Yes the living conditions are horrible but most inmates seem well adjusted to prison life. When one knife goes missing, Ebony (who doesn't project good leadership or charisma) threatens that one man will die everyday, yet in the climax we see hundreds of shanks falling out of windows.
In any prison, the relationship between guards and inmates can give a hint of what is going wrong, and if early prevention was required. Prisoners' reaction to control tactics employed by staff is valuable. Finally portrayal of dynamics among inmates are important. For example, inmates cooperating with staff is generally looked down at but here Ebony is a leader. By my standards, "The Shawshank Redemption" is the best example of a prison movie.
My main gripe is that the movie doesn't build up to the final tension leading to the riot. Needed more research on prisons and less of fantastic camera-work.