Ten reasons to celebrate Pride Month with "Latin Blood"

by Cláudio Alves

LATIN BLOOD: THE BALLAD OF NEY MATOGROSSO | © Netflix

Last Thursday, Americans celebrated Juneteenth, but south of the Equator, Latin America's largest nation was in a cinephile mood. It was Brazilian Cinema Day, marking 127 years since Affonso Segreto shot what is considered the earliest cinematic depiction of Brazil in film history. A century and change after cameras first glimpsed the Guanabara Bay, the country's having a moment on the world stage. In the space of a few months, we saw such titles as I'm Still Here, The Blue Trail, and The Secret Agent win big at the Oscars, Berlinale, and Cannes. However, within Brazilian borders, other success stories have flourished, largely overlooked by international onlookers. Consider Vitória with Fernanda Montenegro delivering a staggering star turn at 95, and today's subject, the word-of-mouth box office phenomenon that is Homem com H.

Known as Latin Blood: The Ballad of Ney Matogrosso in English-language markets, the music biopic arrived on Netflix June 17th. And, since that streaming giant is doing nothing to promote it, let me enumerate ten reasons why you need to add Esmir Filho's latest to your Pride Month watchlist…

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Oscar Volleys: Best International Film aka “Emilia Pérez” vs. the World

The Oscar Volleys are back for some post-nomination talks. Today, Eric Blume and Nathaniel Rogers discuss Best International Film...

EMILIA PÉREZ | © Netflix

ERIC:  Nathaniel, what fun to have you all to myself to discuss the nominees for Best International Film (which I sometimes still call Best Foreign Film, because that's been in my brain too long).  I think we have five pretty terrific nominees this year.  Before we get into their Oscar-ability, what is your personal take across the five films?  I wouldn't be mad at a ranking!

NATHANIEL:  I share the same nomenclature waffling but we both were Oscar watching since the 1980s so who can blame us?...

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TIFF '24: "Carnival Is Over" and serving poor man's Shakespeare

by Cláudio Alves

CARNIVAL IS OVER (Photo Credit: Helena Barreto)

You know a film has grand ambitions, mayhap delusions of grandeur, when it opens with two extensive title cards setting up a mythos and cast of characters you'll need to follow to make sense of what's to come. Carnival Is Over wants to ensure the audience understands the century-old Animal Game, a clandestine lottery controlled by the "bicheiros" of Rio de Janeiro. Bask in this sense of legacy, for it's about to be upturned as a crisis of power blossoms within the crime lord's syndicate. It all starts with the return of a prodigal son from abroad, a year after his father's suspicious death. Valério is the heir's name, but you might as well call him Hamlet. Or perhaps Macbeth. Later in the narrative, he'll even play a little Titus Andronicus…

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Three more Best International Film Contenders & Finalist Lists

by Nathaniel R

THREE KILOMETRES TO THE END OF THE WORLD © Vlad Dumitrescu

It's that time of year when countries are regularly announcing their Oscar submission. We started the week with 15 contenders but now we're at 18 and we have three new finalist lists, as well... 

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The Way He Looks @ 10: Unlocking Queer Joy

by Juan Carlos Ojano

Hear ye, gays and allies!

This month marks the tenth anniversary of the Brazilian coming-of-age rom-com The Way He Looks (Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho, lit. Today I Want to Go Back Alone), written and directed by Daniel Ribeiro. Since its premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2014, the film - and the short film that it was based on - has attracted warm response from viewers since. Released in Brazil on April 10, the film tells the story of a visually impaired high school student named Leonardo (Ghilherme Lobo) who befriends and later on becomes attracted to his new classmate Gabriel (Fábio Audi). It’s now heralded as one of the modern gems of queer cinema and rightfully so.

Given the event that we’re celebrating, I think this is an opportune time to finally put on the record how I came across this warm hug of a film...

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