O homem do ano
Brazil,
2003, 115 min
Shown in 2003
CREDITS
- dir
-
José Henrique Fonseca
- prod
-
Flávio R. Tambellini, Leonardo Monteiro de Barros, José Henrique Fonseca
- scr
-
Rubem Fonseca
- cam
-
Breno Silveira
- editor
-
Sérgio Mekler
- mus
-
Dado Villa-Lobos
- cast
-
Murilo Benício, Claudia Abreu, Natália Lage, Jorge Dória
- source
-
Grupo Novo de Cinema e TV, Rue Capitão Salomão 42, Humaitá, Rio de Janeiro 22271-040, Brazil. FAX: 55-21-2266-3637. EMAIL: braziliancinema@braziliancinema.com.
- premiere
-
North American Premiere
-
COMMENTS
Skyy Prize contender. José Henrique Fonseca in person.
OTHER
Fate, violence and peroxide tint José Henrique Fonseca’s The Man of the Year, an atmospheric film set on Brazil’s besieged city streets. Gazing into a mirror at the salon, Máiquel (a brooding and volatile Murilo Benício) glimpses a new personality lurking behind his freshly bleached platinum blonde hair. And when the notorious local thug Suel mocks Máiquel’s flaxen locks, he defends his coiffure with lethal force. Suddenly, Máiquel is the talk of the neighborhood, enjoying the affection of his hairstylist Cledir (Claudia Abreu) as well as gifts and favors from local residents who suffered under Suel’s vicious criminal caprice. But the eccentric Dr. Carvahlo and his association of wealthy businessmen have plans to transform Máiquel’s sudden act of violence into a new vocation: assassin. When Suel’s teenage girlfriend demands Máiquel take care of her, he must choose between the stability of life as husband and pet store employee and one of wealth and respect as a vigilante for hire. Breno Silveira’s liquid camerawork underscores the mood of decay and corruption in Fonseca’s sleek first feature. Based on Patricia Melo’s novel The Killer, The Man of the Year is a potent examination of one man’s attempt to alter the forces of destiny and the fungibility of violence and status.
—Aaron Lazenby
FACTOID #180
According to the Chronicle’s Herb Caen, producer David O. Selznick’s ’last letter and last phone call were to [SFIFF administrator] Shirley Temple Black to whom he said, ’I can’t wait to see you at the Festival.’’ Selznick was the namesake for a series of awards at the San Francisco International.
