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Brazilian Film Review
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By Mark Taylor
The Man Who Copied (O Homem Que Copiava) is another of the films that prompted the recent exposure of Brazilian cinema in the international arena, although the infamous City of God (Cidade de Deus) spearheaded this. Like City of God, The Man Who Copied is a film that definitely merits international exposure as it is a charming tale, aside from being well directed and acted. Unlike City of God it shows a somewhat lighter story and side of Brazil, although still highlights some of the issues with living here for Brazilians.
The story centres around André (Lázaro Ramos), who works in one of the many copy shops around Brazil. His job, as the title implies, is to photocopy and not much else. This particular copy shop is in Porto Alegre. He earns a pittance, but despite this is a dreamer, and saves for a year to buy a pair of binoculars. He then uses these to watch his neighbours, similar to the Hitchcock-ian Rear Window. He develops a crush on one of his neighbours, Silvia (Leandra Leal), who has her own set of problems living with her father. André even follows Silvia one day, and finds out she works at a women‘s clothing shop. But he‘s too shy at the time to talk to her.
The beautiful but vapid Marinés also works in the copy shop with André selling the stationery. Her dream is to meet and marry a rich man (who musn‘t smoke). One evening she invites André out with her friend Cardoso (Pedro Cardoso) and they cook up a plan to use the photocopiers, and André‘s skill with the machine, to counterfeit 50 Reais bills. André does this with a single bill, despite struggling with his conscience, and uses the bill to buy a lottery ticket. He decides to use the change from the ticket to meet Silvia, by going to the clothing shop on the premise of buying his mother a present.
So the story unfolds. What will happen to André? Will the counterfeit notes cause problems? Will Silvia fall in love with him?...
The story highlights the life of the majority of Brazilians, who live in relative poverty earning very little (with the average wage around 250 Reais a month). But it also shows how these people, despite their poverty, struggle with the everyday issues that we all struggle with, such as falling in love, making friends, passing time etc.
Ultimately the story is in my opinion excellent, and of course the backbone of any film, and aside from the cultural issues tells the universal story of a young man trying to survive and be happy. The film is well directed by Jorge Furtado, and at times you feel like a fly-on-the-wall in the life of the characters. Lázaro Ramos, as the central character André, does a fantastic job of drawing you in to the story, aside from the other excellent performances.
I recommend for those still learning Portuguese that you get the DVD version which has both Portuguese and English subtitles.
Previous articles by Mark Taylor:
Brazilian Film Review
Brazil: Finados (Day of the Dead)
Interjections, exclamations and onomatopoeia in Brazilian Portuguese
Brazil: Halloween
Brazil says "No" to banning firearms
Brazil Humour: Phone Etiquette
Brazil's Gun Referendum
Brazil: Scams
Brazil: Moby Review
Brazil: Keeping in touch via the Internet - Part 5
Brazil: Keeping in touch via the Internet - Part 4
Brazil: Avril Lavigne at Pacaembu
Moby in Brazil
Brazil: Keeping in touch via the Internet - Part 3
Brazil: Keeping in touch via the Internet - Part 2
Brazilian Film Review
Brazil: Keeping in touch via the Internet - Part 1
Brazil: First season of Lost repeated on AXN
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11/12/2005
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