The Man of the Year (2003)

Very disappointing...

Captivating movie !

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

They loved this film in Miami, giving Murilo Benício a Best Actor award, and giving José Henrique Fonseca Best Director, and naming it the Best Film of the Brazilian Film Festival. It won other awards elsewhere, and had seven nominations.Everything I have read says it is a true depiction of live on the periphery of Rio. It's not City of God, but more a Tarantino version of El Mariachi.Máiquel (Benício) loses a soccer bet and has to dye his hair blond. He is dissed by Suel (Wagner Moura) over the hair, and he ends up killing him. He immediately goes from being an unemployed bum, to local hero.Not only does he now have an income source, he has an amazing babe in Cledir (Cláudia Abreu). He also has an extra babe in Erica (Natália Lage), who was Suel's girl. Of course, she is only 15, so he plays nice.Cledir immediately gets pregnant, and a wedding is planned. How can he resist that smile? Well, despite her obvious strong points, the fact that she cooked his pig was a definite negative.He is hired as a hit man by a local dentist (Jorge Dória) to get revenge on the man who raped his daughter. Soon, he is taking jobs from the dentist's friends. Coked up and getting the feel for killing, he soon takes a different look at Erica.Why the necessity of a hit man? Apparently the police are ineffective in the outlying areas. If you want justice, you get it yourself. Hell, the police go into partnership with him! But things are not going great on the home front. The relationship with Erica really messes thing up - and she's found religion! Lots of action, good music, and Murilo Benício was great.

...and my x-girlfriend and that guy that bumped into me on the train. he was a cool, young, good looking dangerous guy and climbing to the top of a Brazilian ghetto. it was amazing how all the people swarmed around him, wanting to be with him, wanting to be friends, partners and lovers with the killer. it seemed like he was doing a service to the community at first, killing all these bad people. but quickly turned into a gun for hire. the only sign that he had feelings was displayed upon his pet pig and look what happened to him. if a guy like this enters your life...things will go really good for you for a time, but you'll be guaranteeing yourself a premature death too. and god bless the beautiful woman of Brazil. i still can't figure out who is prettier, Claudia abreu or Natalia lage. this is the first film i got through Film Movement. it's so cool to get these indies delivered to my house. i liked this movie a lot. i got to see a part of Brazil i will never know in real life.

After getting his hair dyed blond as a bet, Máiquel goes to his local bar where he is laughed at by Suel. Enraged by this insult (in front of a girl), he returns later and shoots Suel. He is afraid of capture by the police but he finds that not only is he considered a hero by the local community but also by the police – who are happy that he killed Suel as he was a criminal but too young to be sent to jail. With his reputation as a vigilante he is approached by his dentist, Dr Carvalho to do another killing – a rapist who attacked his 17-year-old daughter. Máiquel finds himself drawn further into the killings while his life also tries to turn normal, with a new wife and a child on the way.City of God has opened up the wider world to not only Brazilian cinema but South American generally and it is a good thing despite films that maybe didn't deserve it getting a wider release. This is not the case with this film, which I am glad got an European release and, thanks to arts channel BBC4, got it's UK television premiere a week or so ago. The plot covers similar ground as City of God in terms of it's subtext (if you could call such an obvious point 'sub') as it deals with the violence of the lower classes as contrasted with the apathy of those rich enough to afford to leave it behind. The film makes this point in an enjoyable story that sees Máiquel sucked into being a killer of criminals and being involved with the rich men within the local community, however he is only ever their tool and can easily be replaced – he is never more than a member of the lower classes, albeit a member that is temporarily useful. This main story is enjoyably slick and stylishly told and it's only downside is that it could easily have been just a little shorter and punchier. This works but it is made much better by Fonseca's comments on current society.As already mentioned, Máiquel's descent into violence and despair is likened onto the spiral of despair and violence seen in the slums of Rio. Although the story is exaggerated for the sake of the film, the meaning is there nonetheless. The film makes the further point of it by showing several things within Máiquel's life that he has no control over – Érica and Bill are both things suddenly in his life that just happen and he seems unable to take action either way. With these social comments the film shows itself to be intelligent and aware and this helped me get over the occasional flaws in plotting. Also helping the film a great deal is the acting from a good cast.Benício is a big actor in Brazil and he is good here, he starts as an arrogant kid and becomes increasingly frantic and violent. His character is basic but he keeps Máiquel an interesting person and never just a metaphor for Brazil's problems. Abreu also undergoes a transformation and, although in a smaller character, hers is even better. At the start of the film she is carefree and beautiful and, with mostly attitude and voice she becomes a tired, unattractive wife! The rest of the cast are all good in various roles and there are no real weak links. The performances are all natural and make the story feel very real when delivering a script set in a very believable Rio.Overall, City of God may get all the press but this film is almost as good despite not being as expansive and stylish. The basic story is enjoyable and involving and is only made better by the layers of commentary on society that is carries with it. The direction is good and this is a very enjoyable film that will hopefully continue to be seen by greater audiences worldwide as a result of City of God's success.

I started to see Brazilian movies a few years ago. And after «City of God», and the mini-series «Cidade dos Homens» («City of Men»), I was really expecting to see another movie about criminality, but outside the «favelas». Man of The Year, was the best picture on this subject, and together with «City of God» we can have a real perspective on the Brazilian crime scene.The movie was really well directed, the script and the story were great and very original, and the photography and angles were very well done. The actors were Great ! as the Brazilian cast have already teach us on prior movies... They promise a lot !It's a common story, about how everything started to an Hit-man... and it all make sense and happen in a so natural way... It's like the destiny was already written.I specially enjoyed the end of the movie, because I was really expecting the «usual» bad ending on a movie like this... But the director give us a chance... I gave a 9 out of 10 to this picture and I'm already waiting for the next Brazilian movie on this thematics.Great Movie !