Besouro (2009) Reviews

• Besouro is less Oung Bak and more Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon in its approach to action and story.

  Hurricane_G-Man2010-09-15

  Let's make no mistake here; this is not a Capoeira film. It's more of a film about people that do Capoeira. The story of Besouro is one of responsibility, pendants, spiritualism, rebellion, and the understanding that ideals don't die they live on in the minds of others who take them to heart. The Film Besouro follows the main character Besouro Mangangá a legendary capoeirista from Santo Amaro, Bahia Brazil. The film is set in the jungles of Bahia in the 1920s; the story is firmly grounded in its historical time and place, when rich white landowners oppressed black workers like slaves, even after the abolishment of slavery in Brazil. The story begins when Master Alipio, who has taught the art of Capoeira to Besouro, Dinora and Quero-Quero since they were children, is brutally murdered under Besouro's watch. Besouro's guilt over how his negligence led to his Master's death sends him deep into the jungles of Bahia where Master Alipio tells his young student from beyond the grave to fight for his people. Besouro is not alone on his mission however; he is aided by the Orisha, Deity like spirits, notably Eshu (a trickster God). They give him magical powers that make his body virtually impenetrable. The story is engaging and it has a social point to make, all of it brought together with a martial arts nougat center. The action is nice, not only do you see Capoeira as it's seen normally on the street (which to the uninitiated is cool enough) but you also see it in its combative form. But sadly to some, wire fighting is sprinkled throughout the action scenes, thankfully their appearance are few and far between. For all that the film tries to do sadly it feels a bit empty in the end. For a movie that has action, drama, mysticism, revenge, and romance it seemingly forgot to pick up character development from Soccer practice. Characters move from one emotional plot point to another with little explanation of the reasoning behind the character change. With that being said, Besouro is still an entertaining and interesting film. For those who are looking for a nonstop balls to the wall Capoeira action film I'm afraid the search will have to continue. But for those looking for a intriguing film which features an equally unique fighting style or if you simply like the style of Capoeira and wish to see a film where it's shown positively, then I feel Besouro is worth a viewing. So on a scale of "Lord of the Rings" to "Twilight" this film gets a Watchmen. 5 stars, Lord of the Rings. 4 stars, the fifth element. 3 stars, Watchmen. 2 stars, The Company of Wolves. 1 star, Twilight.

• Amazing

  broen992010-04-01

  Let me just say that I would have given it a 10 had it not been for some pacing problems. This is not a historical account so much as a spiritual one. Spirit being what Besouro has tons of. Given what the average person looks for in a hero its easy to see why some wont get this movie. Also while history does take a backseat to the soul and legend of the story. A knowledge of history is important to the understanding of the people and the general climate amongst ex-slaves. If you are expecting a boot-to-the-head-fest you will be disappointed. If you are looking for a film about The trials of a people and their ability to overcome this is for you.

• Amazing Film

  efrederiksen2013-08-13

  Amazing movie about a Brazilian legend: Besouro. All the actions scenes are very realistic and also have a Brazilian swing on this unique Brazilian martial art, the capoeira. Invented by Afro-Brazilians slaves to protect themselves against slavery. Photography is also a high level on the movie, vivid colors and very well done compositions. Based in a true Story, we can see lots of Brazilian culture hardly seen before, the relations between the slaves and the plantations owner are also told in the movie. The acting has a special taste, the actors are very genuine, the director chose a kind of non mainstream actors to keep the realistic feeling in the story. Totally recommended! Go for it!

• Beettle Battle

  daniel-rs2009-11-03

  The film have made it. Brazilian movies despite stills on public money have found a new language. The photography is good, lots of action, likely the cricket on KungFu , some Italian-Mexican western spice. Fun and popcorn guaranteed. Capoeira fight is the motto in an earlier 20th century Brazil, fighting for civil rights among the black community. Rather than well known actors the film introduces a cast of newly ones, absolutely being granted to a higher ground. Location in the open nature satisfies the public viewer by giving cascades, rivers, forests. Wow thats really tuff having the responsibility of writing about something specially movies. Now i have the taste of being a reviewer it is no easy thing.

• Capoeira Ninja Style

  ricfal2010-02-18

  Although filmed with a sort of contemporary touch in aesthetics and camera works this film is a let down. The character never seem to capture the viewer who is simply rambling through the cliché far-fetched kind of plans. It seems to try to compensate in aesthetic exacerbation what it lacks in simplicity and dramatic quality. It comes out as a hard to develop kind of thing and it simply doesn't take advantage of so many possibilities left to explore, from the actual roots of capoeira, to the potential in most of the characters. The characters are also a bunch of stereotypical sketch and never leave that numb state to let out some actual personality. Everyone just goes where they're expected to go and do what they are supposed to do. That's nothing else than lack of inventiveness and failure to capture the essence of smaller and less obvious connections. Not totally a waste of time, but almost. Not recommended.