Bacurau
Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, Juliano Dornelles
- mystery
- western
- thriller
The story
Bacurau, a small town in the Brazilian sertão, mourns the loss of its matriarch, Carmelita, who lived to be 94. Days later, its inhabitants notice that their community has vanished from most maps.
What it’s like
Wide, sun-bleached landscapes of the Brazilian sertão give way to dusty village streets, painted walls and tin roofs under a relentless noon glare, with night scenes lit by lamps, headlights and the eerie glow of drones. Director Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles hold their frames with a patient, almost painterly stillness, letting the community's everyday rhythms (a wake, a market, a long conversation on a porch) breathe before the film tips into genre. The score is sparse and pulsing, punctuated by tense silences and the hum of machinery overhead. The vibe is defiant and communal, a slow-burning unease that shades into a sly, sun-scorched western. Violence is present and occasionally sudden, with some gunfire, bloodshed and graphic killing that lands hard but is not lingered on for gore's sake; there is also sexual content and some crude humour. Its people form a fierce, loyal collective, and the arc is one of a town slowly awakening to its own strength. It suits viewers who want political heat, genre sharpness and a distinctly Brazilian visual texture, and who can sit with bruising moments.
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