Notícias de uma Guerra Particular (1999)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Directors:

Kátia Lund
João Moreira Salles

Writers:

Kátia Lund (writer)
João Moreira Salles (writer)

Release Date:

14 April 1999 (Brazil)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Documentary about urban violence in Brazil, especially in Rio de Janeiro. Policemen, drug dealers, and shantytown dwellers get trapped into a daily war that knows no winners. |

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Nilton Cerqueira	...	Himself
Carlos Luis Gregório	...	Himself
Paulo Lins	...	Himself
Hélio Luz	...	Himself
Rodrigo Pimentel	...	Himself
Itamar Silva	...	Himself

Also Known As:

News from a Personal War (USA)
News from a Private War
Noticias de una guerra personal (Spain)

Runtime:

57 min

Country:

Brazil | Spain

Language:

Portuguese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Certification:

Brazil:14

Filming Locations:

Favela Santa Marta, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Company:

VideoFilmes

Trivia:

This documentary is featured on the DVD for Cidade de Deus (2002).

Quotes:

Hélio Luz: I'll say it myself. The police are corrupt. The institution was designed to be violent and corrupt. And the people think that's odd. Why do I say it was designed this way? Because it was created to protect the State and the elite. I practice law enforcement to protect and serve the status quo; no beating around the bush. It keeps the favela
[slum]
Hélio Luz: under control. How do you keep two million people under control; people who make R$112 a month, when they make any? How do you keep the underprivileged under control and calm?
[...]

A Taste of Rio's Reality

Thought provoking. Shocking. Real. This documentary provides a first hand perspective of the violence found just miles outside of the picturesque images associated with Rio De Janeiro. The film continuously cuts back and forth from the testimony of the three segments portrayed in the film: the police, the dealers, and the dwellers. The favelas(slums)are home to the country's most downtrodden--the government leaves the lands as wastelands and the result is war in the streets. This documentary will open your eyes to urban warfare on a scale beyond comparison in the Unites States. Some of the most chilling testimonies are the ones provided by young men in detention facilities who detail the horrific crimes committed. Who's side do you take after watching the film? Are the dealers heroes protecting their communities? Are the police the real enemy? Can the citizen/dweller caught in between the crossfire (literally) ever have an impact in the fa vela? What can derail the vicious cycle of drug sales, gun smuggling, and poverty? Or rather, can anything ever end this cycle?