This week, Murray State's Cinema International presents the 2019 Brazilian and French film Bacurau. Tracy Ross speaks to MSU program director Dr. Thérèse St. Paul and Spanish professor Dr. Robert "Moses" Fritz about the upcoming screenings.
From the MSU Cinema International website:
"In a near-future in a remote corner of Brazil lies the town of Bacurau, an arid place suddenly disturbed by strange occurrences. Soon, a malevolent band of armed mercenaries arrives targeting the villagers one-by-one.
Realism, sci-fi, and dystopian-future elements co-exist flawlessly in this story where one for all and all for one proves what unity can accomplish! With witchcraft, treachery, racism, socialism, and a hint of the Seven Samurai, Bacurau is a scathing allegory of the country's complex problems and the callous indifference of government, and the damaging role of Western business interests.
A boldly inventive political fantasy, a thrillingly imaginative playbook for resistance... A gloriously demented, very entertaining movie which delivers a very compact sub-text."
While the film does not name any specific Brazilian presidents, Fritz says that viewers will be able to "connect the dots. The main idea is a critique of how a political elite in the South seems to exploit the resources and people of the Northeast of Brazil. There's definitely a regional element to this film that's important to understand."
In addition to the Southern elite's exploitation of the Northeast, there is another subtext—a warning. "It's a warning to this political elite class that they shouldn't betray their own country for their own gain because they can't trust their international partners."
The film follows a diverse range of characters, many rooted in folklore. There are references to Brazil's long history of slavery and a strong presence of Afro-Brazilian traditions. The foundation of all the film's elements is resistance to federal powers and a call for citizens to unify.
St. Paul and Fritz warn that Bacurau does contain content that might be difficult to watch for sensitive or young audiences. However, St. Paul says the shocking nature of the film's violence has a greater point. "If we think the violence here is upsetting, well, yes—but it's also to remember to put in your face the horror of the violence. It's not glorifying it by any means," St. Paul says.
"The violence is sort of representative in a critical sense," Fritz adds. "There are a lot of movies about wartime that glorify the violence that people have to engage in to get through a situation. That's not what this movie does."
"It shows that people use violence because it's a violent situation. But it shows the violence as sickening. It's not glorifying what people do. It's saying, look at what they are compelled to do. It's really terrifying and sickening, but I think it rectifies a problem in science fiction and fantasy genres that trivialize violence for entertainment purposes. It's a good reminder that violence is ugly, no matter what," Fritz concludes.
MSU Cinema International presents Bacarau on Thursday, March 3rd, in the Barkley Room, and Saturday, March 5th, in the Curris Center Theater. Both screenings are at 7:30 p.m. on the third floor of the Curris Center on MSU's main campus. Screenings are free and open to the public.
For more information on the Cinema International program, visit its website.
