This movie is awful in every single aspect. Gross and without humor, historically naive, bad acting, primitive cutting, inadequate soundtrack, everything in this movie looks and sounds wrong and cheap. The Spanish and European Portuguese accents sound fake to the point of hurting the ears. Moreover, what's this thing about having a Scot guy narrating the movie in English? What nonsense! Additionally, what's this thing about Carlota throwing shoes out of the boat into what is obviously a cheap fish tank? Hallo! Was it supposed to look like the seabed? If the intention was to be satirical, even if gross, they should have watched some Monty Python flicks and learn how to do it. Well, at least there were two interesting points in this movie. First, it shows how much Brazilian aesthetic production values are contaminated by extremely poor soap opera standards. Contrast this poor excuse for a movie with the excellent "Central do Brasil," and the point in mind reveals itself clearly. It's amazing that the two movies were big blockbusters in Brazil, considering that they are at the opposite extremes of the quality scale. Second, it is the ultimate proof of a Brazilian sociological phenomenon, that Brazilians are unable to accept and face their own failures, and need to systematically bring "deus ex machina" motives into play to explain the difficulties of the country. The bitter question that remains after watching this movie is: if the leaders of a nation, imposed or not, are so weak, mean, incompetent and stupid, what thereafter should one conclude about the character traits of the people that accept the rule of leaders like those? Intriguing, even if sad.
Review of Carlota Joaquina, Princesa do Brazil
