TIFF Reaction: ONCE UPON A TIME IN RIO (ERA UMA VEZ…)

The first opportunity you get – go see ONCE UPON A TIME IN RIO (aka ERA UMA VEZ…).

I’m actually going to refrain from trying to write about it, because I’m still so moved and shaken up from what I just watched. I will say this:

The movie is a fable, but a fable that unfolds on a razor’s edge. By the time the first act is over, you will see where the story is going…but it won’t matter, because when it inevitably arrives at its destination it will still cut you deeply.

It is director Breno Silveira’s second feature and it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. I count myself lucky that i was able to shake his hand and tell him so.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN RIO plays once more at TIFF 08, and will be released by Sony sometime in the coming months. I highly recommend it.