Quase Dois Irmãos (2004)

Director:

Lúcia Murat

Writers:

Paulo Lins (writer)
Lúcia Murat (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 April 2005 (Brazil)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

We all have two lives: the one we dream of and the one we live.

Plot:

The strange friendship between two men of opposite social classes. Miguel is a senator. His childhood friend Jorge is a major drug-dealer...

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Friendship | Prison | 1970s | Samba

Awards:

12 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Caco Ciocler	...	Miguel (anos 70)
Flavio Bauraqui	...	Jorginho (anos 70)
Werner Schünemann	...	Miguel (hoje / today)
Antônio Pompêo	...	Jorginho (hoje / today)
Maria Flor	...	Juliana
Fernando Alves Pinto	...	Peninha
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Brunno Abrahão	...	Miguel as a child (1950s)
Cristina Aché	...	Miguel's wife (1970s)
Lúcia Alves	...	Miguel's wife (2004)
Pablo Ricardo Belo	...	Jorge as a child (1950s)
Mr. Catra	...	Rap singer
Renato de Souza	...	Deley
Fernando Eiras	...	Miguel's father
Jandir Ferrari	...	Prison ward
Charles Fricks	...	Marcos
Jefchander Lucas	...	Boy from favela
Luiz Melodia	...	Seu Jorge
Erick Oliveira	...	Duda
Tonico Pereira	...	Head of Prison
Ernesto Piccolo	...	Marine Officer
Babu Santana	...	Pingão
Marieta Severo	...	Helena
Marcio Vito	...	Preso político

Also Known As:

Almost Brothers (Canada: English title) (festival title) (International: English title)

Runtime:

102 min | Argentina:102 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

Brazil | Chile | France

Language:

Portuguese

Color:

Color

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Brazil:16

Filming Locations:

Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Company:

Taiga Filmes

Movie Connections:

References Cidade de Deus (2002)

A More Realistic "City of God" with More Social Context

I saw this last night and thought it was brilliant and beautiful. It's like a deeper, more realistic version of "The City of God" with more social context. The audience applauded at the end of last night's showing, which hasn't happened too often at other festival showings I've been to.

Lucia Murat, the director, was there last night. She told us that both she and her husband were left-wing activists and political prisoners in the 1970s under the military rule. The prison part of the story is based partly on her and her husband's experience. She worked with the author of the book version of "City of God" to get nuances of the slum life right (Paulo Lins, author of "Cidade de Deus"). Many of the child actors in the movie actually live in the slums.

The use of non-linear narration, the interlacing of several stories from different time periods (like in "21 Grams"), is confusing at first. It's a little hard to keep track of who's who. But if you pay attention and bear with it for the first half hour, the confusion does clear up. I think this mixing of stories is done for more than just theatrics. It reminds us that these people from different worlds, rich and poor, black and white, are really related and interdependent.