Abril Despedaçado (2001)

Director:

Walter Salles

Writers:

Karim Ainouz (writer)
Ismail Kadare (novel)

Release Date:

28 February 2002 (Malaysia)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

When ordered by his father to avenge the death of his older brother, a young man questions the tradition of violence between two rival families.

Plot Keywords:

Death | Tradition | Violence | 1910s | Circus

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 5 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

José Dumont	...	Father
Rodrigo Santoro	...	Tonho
Rita Assemany	...	Mother
Ravi Ramos Lacerda	...	Pacu
Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos	...	Salustiano
Flavia Marco Antonio	...	Clara
Everaldo Pontes	...	Old Blind Man (as Everaldo De Souza Pontes)
Caio Junqueira	...	Inácio
Mariana Loureiro	...	Widow
Servilio de Holanda	...	Isaías
Wagner Moura	...	Matheus
Othon Bastos	...	Mr. Lourenço
Gero Camilo	...	Reginaldo
Vinícius de Oliveira	...	Ferreira Family Member
Soia Lira	...	Ferreira Family Member

Also Known As:

Avril brisé (France)
Behind the Sun (International: English title)
Shredded April (literal English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence and a scene of sexuality.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

Brazil | France | Switzerland

Language:

Portuguese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:U | Argentina:13 | Brazil:12 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:12 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Iceland:LH

Filming Locations:

Bom Sossego, Bahia, Brazil

Company:

Bac Films

Movie Connections:

References Os Trapalhões e o Mágico de Oróz (1984)

Beautiful!

This film is so beautiful, from the actors, the setting, the cinematography, the message...it was such a stunning and touching movie. A movie about vengence. A movie about love among family. Brotherly love. I felt myself transported and enraptured by this movie. More of a peek into time and space rather than watching a movie, really. To be utterly forgotten that I was watching this at home, from my VCR and feel as though I could taste the dust and feel the grind of the sugarcane mill...Who knew one could extract such sadness and anger from the sight of a bloodstained shirt, billowing in the wind as if it were dancing? Walter Salles did. The pace was deliberately slow. It's like reading a book very slowly, because you want to soak in every word and don't want to reach it's inevitable end. So if you'd rather watch a Kung Fu movie, fine.

Wonderful performances by Rodrigo Santoro (yes, he's gorgeous, can we all get over that and take his performance for what it's really worth? Tell me his doe-eyed, innocent, 'boy trapped in a man's body' performance wasn't convincing, cus it was to me), Jose Dumont as the rigid and exhausted father, and especially the charming, darling young Ravi Ramos Lacerda.