Manda Bala

The Eco Film on Friday, April 9th: Manda Bala

Winner of 4 awards at the Sundance, Rome and Durban International film festivals.

Genre: Documentary. Director: Jason Kohn. Brazil, 2007. 85 minutes.

Manda Bala, meaning ‘Send a Bullet’ is a strikingly beautiful and well-constructed documentary about cycles of violence and how it affects both victims and perpetrators. Filmed in Sao Paulo and banned in Brazil, the film consists of segments in which victims of kidnapping, politicians, policemen, and criminals are interviewed about crime in Brazil. Although it contains nearly surreal content, so shocking is it to discover this rampant criminal activity, its intelligent, cohesive portrayal of the situation avoids morbidity. English translators sit with interviewees, relaying in chilling detail stories that defy logic. Interviewee Christina recalls atrocities inflicted upon her by kidnappers, while footage of her miraculously talented plastic Surgeon, Dr, Juarez Avelar, shows how he helps those scarred. Mr. M, a businessman, enlists in a course about driving one’s bulletproof car, while Magrinho, a masked drug trafficker, discusses the “Robin Hood” ideal behind kidnapping. Though no direct solutions are proposed, Manda Bala illustrates how greed leads to civilian poverty, and how this destitution leads to crime.