Brainstorm (2000)

A trip to the mental institution hell. This odyssey is lived by Neto, a middle class teenager, who lives a normal life until his father sends him to a mental institution after finding drugs... See full summary »

Director:

Laís Bodanzky

Writers:

Luiz Bolognesi, Austregésilo Carrano (book)

Stars:

Rodrigo Santoro, Othon Bastos, Cássia Kis

45 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rodrigo Santoro	...	Wilson Souza Neto
Othon Bastos	...	Sr. Wilson Souza (Pai)
Cássia Kis	...	Meire Souza (Mãe) (as Cássia Kiss)
Dani Nefussi	...	Neto's Sister (as Daniela Nefussi)
Jairo Mattos	...	Enfermeiro Ivan
Altair Lima	...	Dr. Cintra
Lineu Dias	...	Interno Jornalista
Caco Ciocler	...	Interno Rogério
Gero Camilo	...	Interno Ceará
Marcos Cesana	...	Interno Bil
Luis Miranda	...	Enfermeiro Marcelo
Valeria Alencar	...	Leninha
Gustavo Machado	...	Lobo
Cláudio Carneiro	...	Alex
Talita Castro	...	Bel

Storyline

A trip to the mental institution hell. This odyssey is lived by Neto, a middle class teenager, who lives a normal life until his father sends him to a mental institution after finding drugs on his pocket. The marijuana cigarette is just the final drop that exposes the family tragedy. Send to a mental institution, Neto gets to know a completely absurd, inhumane reality in which the people are devoured by a corrupt and cruel institution system. The documentary type language used by the director give this movie a sensation of realty that increases even more the impact of the emotions Neto goes through. In the mental institution, Neto is forced to mature. The transformations that he goes through change this relations with his father.

---

Plot Keywords:

title directed by female | mental institution | drugs | vomiting | electroshock therapy | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie is based on real events as described on the book Canto dos Malditos (Corner of the Damned), by Austragésilo Carrano Bueno, who spent much time in Hospital Espírita de Psiquiatria Bom Retiro and Hospital de Neuro Psiquiatria do Paraná, both in Curitiba, PR, Brazil.

The book is quite hard to obtain even in portuguese, as Austragésilo cited many physicians by name (leading among them Dr. Alô Ticolaut Guimarães) and they sued to remove the books from the shelves, obtaining a court order after only 7 months of being published. Thus, the movie omits all real names used by the book.

---

Connections

References One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

---

Soundtracks

O Seu Olhar
by Arnaldo Antunes

User Reviews

The two sides of alternative direction

Alternative (and artistic said) direction is a tradition among Brazilian movies, and Bicho de Sete Cabeças does not escape from it. The first thing you notice when watching it that the image is not of a very high quality; a cheaper type of film was used. That can be explained by the fact that the movie industry is not very sponsored in Brazil, forcing some cuts on the budget. But that can also be a consequence of the constant fight of Brazilian moviemakers to never do things in the conventional way. That is also noticed on the unusual takes and camera movements.

Normally, that is the exact reason why Brazilian people themselves dislike Brazilian movies. It is rather unpleasant to watch. Some scenes even create a certain dizziness. And for that reason, this alternative direction is a nuisance for the beginning of the movie, where we see Neto living his everyday life. It may not be an ordinary one, but his personal decadence could have been shown using modern filming techniques, that wouldn't create in the audience the feeling that they're watching an amateur movie, something homemade. However, when it comes to the scenes that occur inside the madhouse, this alternative directions fits exactly with the horrible climate that fills the place. It transmits to the audience the point of view of the character; a normal person who's under the effect of heavy drugs and is surrounded by mad people. That uncommon filming enters the audience mind, as if they were there, living that situation. It makes them feel uncomfortable, but that's the purpose.

The poison for some is the balm for others. So the lesson here is that nations should exchange their techniques and use them to best fit their movie, instead of keeping fighting against what is foreigner.

Details

Official Sites:

Buriti Filmes Ltda.

Country:

Brazil

Language:

Portuguese

Release Date:

22 June 2001 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

Brainstorm

Box Office

Budget:

$700,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Buriti Filmes, Dezenove Som e Imagem, Fabrica Cinema

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Color:

Color