Jacksonville Film Festival 2008

The movie has some charming moments, and some funny ones (mostly related to sex), but the script and acting are amateurish. The characters' lines often describe what is happening visually, as if the audience will miss something. However, is not a film full of subtleties where a key moment might escape audience notice. We don't need characters to describe the obvious. I can't tell you how many times I rolled my eyes. Perhaps it is made worse by the overly dramatic acting. It may simply be the Brazilian style, but it reminded me of a soap opera, with the exaggerated eye acting and head movements. I'm not sure it matters, though, because the script would prevent good acting from doing anything worth watching. The film has no drama at all...we never care what happens to any of the characters. We don't cry when one dies, or falls in love. I think it is probably a timing issue. We no sooner learn about how lonely a girl is, than 5 minutes later she meets the man of her dreams and she is in paradise. Then someone else has a problem that is immediately resolved, all the while having the characters describe what they are doing. Ho hum. The characters also seem stupid. The road geologist finds a hunk of metal in the desert and it is a complete mystery to him. He does not even entertain the thought that it might be a meteor. Well, I'm no geologist, but it looks like a meteor! That's just one example. I'm not a movie critic. I do, however, screen about 10 films at the Jax Film Fest each year, and this is the first time I had the overwhelming urge to simply walk out. The urge hit me about 30-40 minutes in the film. I only stayed because the director was there and I didn't want to embarrass him.