"O Apito da Panela de Pressão" ("The Pressure Cooker Whistle") is a curious and almost forgotten short documentary that presents the countless
protests by two famous universities in the state of São Paulo (USP and PUC) against the military regime, at the time in the height of violent deaths and prisons
of alleged communists and people who opposed to the current government.
In 1975, it was the fake suicide of journalist Vladimir Herzog that shocked the nation and
urged a reaction from society - back when liberties were taken away from citizens, arrests were conducted on the basis of national security laws and censorship was
present in the media, arts and also inside colleges (teachers didn't have the freedom of speech inside their classrooms; today there's even divisions inside classes
depending on how conducts the teaching or the institution. There are places for the right and for the left). And in 1976, the murder of factory worker and activist
Manuel Fiel Filho also outraged the nation; and there's also the killing of a military opposed to the regime also assassinated at the time. All three cases happened in
São Paulo, the biggest Brazilian city and the heart of economy, and the students from the two state universities demanded wide and unrestricted amnesty for all parties
involved, the investigation on cases of torture and killings, and basically justice and fairness for all, specially wishing for the return of democracy and the end of the
regime (which didn't happened until 1985).
The short presents the protests around May-June 1977 and it was all shot in famous locations at the city center (the Sé square and nearby locations), all
captured in guerrila style, witout permits and hiding away from the authorities. What was gathered in the filming was assembled, edited together and shown only to colleges
back in the late 1970's showing how protests and marches should be conducted, how to address the public and make an important event. However, the police forces heard of
the film and later on aprehended the copies. The ones that got away exist today and current generations can watch it and see the importance of how student movements were
back in the dark days in our politics and how things turned out for the better since we don't see violence on the streets, we don't see prisons, we only glimpse some brief
moments of animosity between the authorities and the young students. Everything worked fine, and thanks to those acts and the ones conducted by the civil society such as
Catholic Church marches, that led to the Unions strike at the ABC region (also São Paulo) with auto workers demanding better working conditions, and that movement was a
major catalyst for the political opening of 1979, slowly making its way back to democracy until 1985.
It's a quite commendable job, with impressive images that shows the importance of the student movement of the 1970's. However, it's quite obscure at points when
it's time to present its message. It's obvious that we don't get to see the faces and the eloquence of the masterminds behind the acts because they could be thrown in jail
or disappear at the time; but when we have audio testimonies about the importance of those protests and the reason why such a fight with the regime is valid, we don't get
much of a clear view about it - except when they're out on the streets, in those parts we can hear the cries and echoes of demands for a better society. The poor sound
quality of the copy that remained isn't so good, it ruins the experience a little. But as testimony of bravery, intrusion and as a platform to engage youngsters and people
in fighting for a better society, I'll give plenty of praise for this almost forgotten little film. 6/10.