Other It's All True docus
Posted: Thu May 16, 2002 11:32 pm
This will be going on the site shortly, but I thought I'd post it here first. If you didn't look at the Brazilian film festival thread a couple weeks ago, this was one of the selections being screened. I happened upon a copy from a grey market dealer.
ALL IS BRAZIL (TUDO E BRAZIL)
directed by Rogerio Sganzerla
1998, 82 minutes
When does 82 minutes seem like an eternity? When it's spent watching a documentary like the diffuse, frustrating All Is Brazil. Directed (or more to the point, pasted together) by Rogerio Sganzerla, the film presents a collage of sound and imagery related to Welles and Brazil. This is the third of three films on Welles by Sganzerla, the first two also relating to Welles' time in Brazil. While I haven't seen those two films, I imagine they're more straightforward than this one.
All is Brazil uses stock footage, stills, art work, and other graphics to stand as visuals for audio clips from Welles, mainly from his radio work. Clips from series such as Hello Americans, the Campbell Playhouse, Lear Show, and others are used, as well as interview clips and movie clips. Music from Brazilian artists is also included. Often, clips are pasted together, as if to present one complete thought.
The problem with all this is that is doesn't appear to go anywhere. There isn't much, if any, of a narrative thread anywhere to be found. We bounce around in the chronology of Welles, but without rhyme or reason. Further, the visuals used sometimes clash incomprehensibly or nonsensically with the audio. For example, the film gets into some clips relating to War of the Worlds. We are shown footage from a Japanese sci-fi film multiple times during this sequence. On other occasions, we see stills of the Graf Zeppelin (?). Sometimes, the connection is too clear; late in the film, we see footage of a jangadeiros style boat being overturned. Insert stock footage of sharks. Cut to footage of politicians. Cut back to sharks. Cut to overturned boat.
I obtained my copy of the film through Video Search of Miami, who deal in grey market/bootleg copies of hard to find films. Their print of the film is subtitled in Portugese, and has a pretty clear picture, all things considered. Audio is more problematic, as the radio clips have a flanging sound to them that requires careful listening on some occasions to make out.
In the end, even if you're a completist, this isn't really worth the time and expense to acquire. Boring to sit through and without much to offer in terms of insight, All is Brazil stands only as a bizarre testament to Welles' time in that country and little else.
Video Search of Miami
ALL IS BRAZIL (TUDO E BRAZIL)
directed by Rogerio Sganzerla
1998, 82 minutes
When does 82 minutes seem like an eternity? When it's spent watching a documentary like the diffuse, frustrating All Is Brazil. Directed (or more to the point, pasted together) by Rogerio Sganzerla, the film presents a collage of sound and imagery related to Welles and Brazil. This is the third of three films on Welles by Sganzerla, the first two also relating to Welles' time in Brazil. While I haven't seen those two films, I imagine they're more straightforward than this one.
All is Brazil uses stock footage, stills, art work, and other graphics to stand as visuals for audio clips from Welles, mainly from his radio work. Clips from series such as Hello Americans, the Campbell Playhouse, Lear Show, and others are used, as well as interview clips and movie clips. Music from Brazilian artists is also included. Often, clips are pasted together, as if to present one complete thought.
The problem with all this is that is doesn't appear to go anywhere. There isn't much, if any, of a narrative thread anywhere to be found. We bounce around in the chronology of Welles, but without rhyme or reason. Further, the visuals used sometimes clash incomprehensibly or nonsensically with the audio. For example, the film gets into some clips relating to War of the Worlds. We are shown footage from a Japanese sci-fi film multiple times during this sequence. On other occasions, we see stills of the Graf Zeppelin (?). Sometimes, the connection is too clear; late in the film, we see footage of a jangadeiros style boat being overturned. Insert stock footage of sharks. Cut to footage of politicians. Cut back to sharks. Cut to overturned boat.
I obtained my copy of the film through Video Search of Miami, who deal in grey market/bootleg copies of hard to find films. Their print of the film is subtitled in Portugese, and has a pretty clear picture, all things considered. Audio is more problematic, as the radio clips have a flanging sound to them that requires careful listening on some occasions to make out.
In the end, even if you're a completist, this isn't really worth the time and expense to acquire. Boring to sit through and without much to offer in terms of insight, All is Brazil stands only as a bizarre testament to Welles' time in that country and little else.
Video Search of Miami