I think I'm yet to see a more purposeless and dull short film than "Alô Tetéia" but in the meantime this takes the prize as one of the weakest I've ever seen in recent
years. It's an early entry in the careers of future talented directors Sérgio Rezende and José Joffily, it can be excusable to some viewers since after that they changed a lot
in their respective careers, usually opting in dealing with serious themes but this comedy lacks everything. If given a purpose to all the troubles faced by the main character,
dramatic for her and humored to the crowd around here (and apparently to us too), then I'd accept it as it is. But it's simply not funny. It doesn't bring any kind of laughter,
just some slightly amusing moments that we chuckle a little but it doesn't go beyond that.
All that Louise Cardoso character wants is to go to the beach. But her car breaks down, and to avoid being cat-called by ruthless men inside taxi cabs, she takes the bus - a crowded one. There, her misfortune begins with loud people singing, yelling, bumping into her or trying to strike random conversations of which she just ignores. She feels superior to the other passengers who always try to make fun of her or whenever the bus moves or when she acts all clumsy or try to cross the turnstile to pay the fare. Then comes a random, unexplainable apperance of an acquaintance of hers that makes her more desperate to get out of the bus. Will she ever manage that? What about the beach, the original plan?
Is there a purpose in the misfortunes of a young woman who just wants to go to the beach? Nope. And to make matters worse, there's no context and reasoning for audiences to care about her, at some parts and it gets more troubled when she recognises the driver. Why that character wasn't even mentioned before? It felt so random and unexplainable since when we first meet her she's all alone, trying outfits and she has no connection with anyone. If the general idea is to talk about the unexpected problems we face when all we wanted to go was to have a good time and have some fun, then the movie is far too simplistic. I've seen better and even when I faced similar situations in real life, I've survived the ordeal and depending of the situation I could even laugh afterwards. With this film, not a single was given.
The positive credit I can give to this short goes to the always honorable Anselmo Vasconcelos playing the bus collector, we feel that he tries his usual humor and of all people that Louise encounters he's the least annoying (even though he's responsible for shouting the film title while cat-calling her); and another credit goes to the people who remastered the picture, the image quality is stunning for a movie from the late 1970's. I just couldn't believe my eyes of how good it looked and that's rare for Brazilian films of the period, specially for an unknown title. 4/10.
All that Louise Cardoso character wants is to go to the beach. But her car breaks down, and to avoid being cat-called by ruthless men inside taxi cabs, she takes the bus - a crowded one. There, her misfortune begins with loud people singing, yelling, bumping into her or trying to strike random conversations of which she just ignores. She feels superior to the other passengers who always try to make fun of her or whenever the bus moves or when she acts all clumsy or try to cross the turnstile to pay the fare. Then comes a random, unexplainable apperance of an acquaintance of hers that makes her more desperate to get out of the bus. Will she ever manage that? What about the beach, the original plan?
Is there a purpose in the misfortunes of a young woman who just wants to go to the beach? Nope. And to make matters worse, there's no context and reasoning for audiences to care about her, at some parts and it gets more troubled when she recognises the driver. Why that character wasn't even mentioned before? It felt so random and unexplainable since when we first meet her she's all alone, trying outfits and she has no connection with anyone. If the general idea is to talk about the unexpected problems we face when all we wanted to go was to have a good time and have some fun, then the movie is far too simplistic. I've seen better and even when I faced similar situations in real life, I've survived the ordeal and depending of the situation I could even laugh afterwards. With this film, not a single was given.
The positive credit I can give to this short goes to the always honorable Anselmo Vasconcelos playing the bus collector, we feel that he tries his usual humor and of all people that Louise encounters he's the least annoying (even though he's responsible for shouting the film title while cat-calling her); and another credit goes to the people who remastered the picture, the image quality is stunning for a movie from the late 1970's. I just couldn't believe my eyes of how good it looked and that's rare for Brazilian films of the period, specially for an unknown title. 4/10.