In Cannes, a gory Western stands against Bolsonaro's Brazil
Kleber Mendonça Filho's Cannes entry "Bacurau" is a feverish and violent Western about a rural Brazilian community defending itself from a hard-to-comprehend invasion. For the filmmakers, it's not so different than President Jair Bolsonaro's Brazil. "Bacurau," which is competing for the Palme d'Or, the top prize, gave the Cannes Film Festival's most searing political statement yet.
While the film is a bloody, surreal Brazilian parable with shades of "The Most Dangerous Game" and "Seven Samurai," its makers spoke in blunter political terms Thursday. "Brazil right now does feel like a dystopia in many, many everyday aspects," Mendonça said to reporters.
At the Cannes premiere to his 2016 film, "Aquarius," Filho and his cast three years ago memorably held placards that declared a coup had taken place in Brazil. Just weeks earlier, Brazil's left-wing former president Dilma Rousseff had been impeached. Last October, Bolsonaro - a populist, right-wing leader sometimes compared to US President Donald Trump - was elected, ushering in a fraught new chapter for Brazil.
This time, Mendonça, his co-director Julian Dornelles and their cast didn't protest on the red carpet. "Bacurau," they said, spoke for them. "We used the movie as our weapon," said actor Thomas Aquino. "This is our answer. This is how we protest."
