Behind the Sun
| Video Review
|
 |
| Title: |
Behind the Sun |
| Publisher: |
Buena Vista Home Entertainment,
Burbank, CA |
| ISBN: |
0-7888-3627-7 |
| Format:
|
DVD |
| Rated:
|
PG-13 |
| Reviewed By: |
Frank Fogg |
| Review Date: |
June, 2003 |
| Rating: |
|
Nominated for a Golden Globe award,
Behind the Sun is a story of a feud between two families in the Brazilian badlands
at the start of the 20th century. This DVD presentation is entirely in Portuguese
and features English subtitles.
Sadness
is the fate of these two families as they become locked in an endless cycle
of vendetta. Son by son, the two families take turns killing the other one son
at a time. Now the oldest son must uphold his family's honor by taking another
life. Spared from retaliation for the murder until the next moon by a truce,
he must plan for the end of his life, having never loved or traveled far from
the plantation they call home.
One day, a mysterious woman arrives in town, an event that will expand the son's
view of the world and unalterably change the course of events. Traveling from
town to town with her stepfather, Clara is a fire eating circus performer that
captures his fancy, awakens his desires, and forces him to re-examine his values
and priorities. Knowing that he is marked for death, she touches his soul in
a way he has never experienced.
Some of the attractions of this movie are the scenery in Brazil and the era
in which it occurs, both of which will be unfamiliar and exotic to most viewers.
Of historical significance is the way the movie shows the everyday lives of
ordinary people involved in the most important export in that time, sugar. The
film clearly shows the difficult and tedious work involved in grinding down
the cane for which the rewards were few.
The close personal interactions of the characters and unpredictable plot make
this an interesting visual spectacle and the ending is sure to catch one by
surprise.
