Underground Game
(2005)
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Underground Game
(2005)
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| Credited cast: | |||
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Felipe Camargo | ... |
Martín
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| Maria Luísa Mendonça | ... |
Ana
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Júlia Lemmertz | ... |
Laura
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Daniela Escobar | ... |
Tania
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Maitê Proença | ... |
Mercedes
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| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
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José Vitor Castiel | ... |
Gordo
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Thavyne Ferrari | ... |
Victória
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Sabrina Greve | ... |
Sofia
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Fausto Maule | ... |
Tadeu
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Massayuki Onishi | ... |
Waiter
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In São Paulo, the weird and romantic piano player Martin believes in serendipity and invents a game to find the woman of his dreams. He previously selects a route in the subway, and in the wagon, he chases a woman to see if her destiny is the same as his. Following his procedures, he meets Tania, the mother of an autistic girl; the blind writer Laura; and the mysterious Ana, a woman with a secret past, and he falls in love for Ana. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The first movie directed by Roberto Gervitz in 18 years, "Jogo Subterrâneo" aka "Underground Game" is better than his acclaimed adaptation of Marcelo Rubens Paiva's best-selling autobiography, "Feliz Ano Velho" (1987). This time, he adapted a short story by Argentinian author Julio Cortázar, about a lonely man (Felipe Camargo) who picks random women on the subway, just to follow them hoping that someone will take the same course as his - such woman could be the right one for him.
"Underground Game" is a dark variation of the "brief encounter" sub-genre, that's given us so many diverse titles ('Before Sunrise/Sunset', 'Next Stop Wonderland', 'In The Mood For Love', 'Lost in Translation', 'Broken English' and, of course, David Lean's classic "Brief Encounter", among many others). Felipe Camargo has never been a great actor and most likely will never be, but he's adequate as the lonely Martin. The always wonderful Maria Luísa Mendonça (one of the greatest - and most underrated - Brazilian actresses of her generation, a fearless talent; I consider her our Jennifer Jason Leigh) gives a nuanced performance as a troubled woman who might be his true love. The last scene is particularly touching, melancholic and uplifting at once. 8.5/10.