01
If I had to choose one movie to represent Brazil, I would choose "City of God" (2002); if I had to choose two, I should add this "Barclau" (2019).
Kleber Mendoza Jr. has been watching the secular struggles of middle-class communities in Brazil's Recife region from "The Sound of the House" (2012) to "Aquarius" (2016), this time he focuses on a building on a map. On the disappearing Brazilian village, he made a magical connection to the history and future of Brazil in the real context in the way of allegory.
02
Teresa arrives for the funeral when the respected Matriarch of Bacurau dies. Teresa is not the protagonist, she is the representative of the external perspective. As a Baklaw who was born and lived in a big city, she will witness another historical construction of Baklaw.
The funeral in Teresa's eyes was grand, new and unfamiliar. The crowd spontaneously followed the matriarch's coffin to see off. The mayor's campaign van was empty. The masses spontaneously followed their leaders.
Trucks swaggered across the city carrying giant posters of mayoral candidates. The mayoral candidate is coercing and enticing, and is bound to win the votes of the village of Bacrow.
In a trance, Teresa saw water overflowing from the matriarch's coffin. Water is the lifeblood of Baklaw village, and the mayoral candidate threatened to cut off the water supply, making Baklaw surrender. The dead matriarch will lead the Barclaws through the crisis once again with the power of spiritual inspiration.
After the funeral, when the village teacher explained the location of Baklaw to the students, he accidentally discovered that Baklaw village had disappeared from the map. Someone wants to erase this village. Crisis is approaching.
Drones closely monitor the Barclaws' every move.
Two innocent villagers were shot dead.
Villagers who went out were attacked and killed.
The two villagers fled overnight and fell to their deaths halfway through.
The conspiracy against the Baclaws has begun.
The mouths of the Barclaws swallowed a seed, and they gained some connection with the solid earth. They gain strength in this connection, engulfing their enemies like seeds.
The mercenaries, armed with live ammunition, entered the village to slaughter. They stopped in front of derelict police cars, and it seemed that the Barclaws wouldn't go easy on themselves.
As usual, a carload of coffins entered the village, and the villagers were ready for sacrifice.
The villagers retaliated, and the mercenaries were killed by surprise.
Several mercenaries broke into the Barclau Village History Museum and became a living example of the museum.
The heads of mercenaries are rolling, and the Barclaws, like their forebears, fight the incoming enemy.
The heads of the enemies were displayed together, and the coffins of the sacrificed villagers were lined up.
The captured mercenary leader was buried alive in the dungeon.
The mayoral candidate, who started it, was put on a devil's mask, rode a little donkey, and was exiled in a cactus-covered desert.
The villagers took out their mobile phones and recorded the moment.
At this moment, Barclaws was reborn from blood.
03
Director Mendoza’s previous film narratives were slack and dull. This time, he took the initiative to move closer to genre films and seek market breakthroughs. There are many criticisms of his changing style, but we take a more positive attitude, and actively seeking change is worthy of praise.
He has opened up a new outlet for violent genre films, combining geopolitics, fitting the spirit of the times, injecting a critical spirit, and extending the dimension of history. The past and present of the South American continent are intertwined in this film. We can criticize him for not being decisive, but his attempts and responsibilities are dazzling enough nowadays.
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