Underground Game (2005)
"Jogo Subterrâneo" (original title)

To find the woman of his life, man makes a game up: he enters a subway train wagon, picks a woman he likes and waits to see whether she's going to take the same course and connections as he. If she is, he tries to make contact.

Director:

Roberto Gervitz

Writers:

Julio Cortázar (short story), Jorge Durán,

Stars:

Felipe Camargo, Maria Luísa Mendonça, Júlia Lemmertz

3 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Felipe Camargo	...	Martín
Maria Luísa Mendonça	...	Ana
Júlia Lemmertz	...	Laura
Daniela Escobar	...	Tania
Maitê Proença	...	Mercedes
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
José Vitor Castiel	...	Gordo
Thavyne Ferrari	...	Victória
Sabrina Greve	...	Sofia
Fausto Maule	...	Tadeu
Massayuki Onishi	...	Waiter

Storyline

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.

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Genres:

Romance | Drama

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Details

Country:

Brazil

Language:

Portuguese

Release Date:

1 April 2005 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

Underground Game

Company Credits

Production Co:

Grapho Producoes Artisticas, Miravista, Vagalume Producoes Cinematograficas

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

Despite being set in São Paulo, virtually every character speaks with a Rio de Janeiro accent.

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Quotes

[subtitled version]
[Felipe Camargo's carachter is playing at the bar he works as pianist. 'Ana' is listening to him. He plays a piece by a very known Brazilian Composer. Ends the song, she is by the piano]
Ana: [claps] Keep playing...
Gordo: If he played this stuff when the bar was open, he'd get fired.
[Ana giggles]
Ana: I liked it.
[she is noticeably drunk]
Ana: Is it yours?
Martín: [ironic] No, it's by a guy called Villa-Lobos.
Ana: Come on, are you gonna turn snob on me? I know more than you may imagine.
[...]

User Reviews

Serendipity

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.