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A
GOOD
MOVIE
that
should
have
been
great,
Hector
Babenco’s
“Carandiru”
shows
how
different
prison
life
can
be
in
Brazil.
It’s
based
on
the
memoirs
of
Drauzio
Varella,
a
doctor
who
helped
fight
the
HIV/AIDS
epidemic
in
Sao
Paulo’s
Carandiru
House
of
Detention.
The
key
event,
a
1992
riot
that
left
111
prisoners
dead,
doesn’t
flow
organically
from
what
precedes
it.
And
after
several
minutes
of
what
looks
like
wholesale
slaughter,
Babenco
teases
us
by
revealing
the
fate
of
various
characters
two
or
three
at
a
time,
like
a
cheesy
disaster
flick.
The
prison,
where
some
parts
of
the
movie
were
actually
filmed,
was
demolished
two
years
ago.
It
takes
some
time
to
get
used
to
the
rules
at
this
detention
center,
where
prisoners
have
fewer
restrictions
because
they’re
technically
still
awaiting
trial
(a
point
not
explained
in
the
film).
A
warden
and
guards
are
on
hand
but
disciplinary
authority,
up
to
and
including
capital
punishment,
is
largely
left
to
the
prisoners
themselves.
One
cellblock
is
ruled
by
Ebony
(Ivan
de
Almeida),
who’s
like
a
trustee
but
with
far
more
authority.
The
Doctor
(Luiz
Carlos
Vasconcelos)
arrives
and
begins
interviewing
and
testing
prisoners.
He
finds
them
frank
and
unconcerned
about
having
AIDS.
Lady
Di
(Rodrigo
Santoro),
who
doesn’t
do
drugs
but
estimates
(s)he’s
had
2,000
partners,
becomes
an
audience
favorite,
especially
after
a
romance
develops
with
Too
Bad
(Gero
Camilo),
a
prisoner
who
serves
as
the
doctor’s
assistant.
The
interviews,
and
accompanying
flashbacks,
in
some
cases,
provide
exposition
on
some
prisoners’
backgrounds
and
the
social
conditions
that
spawned
them.
The
stories
develop
until
suddenly
there’s
a
soccer
championship,
our
first
hint
of
any
athletic
activity
at
Carandiru
and
a
key
turning
point
in
the
film.
“Carandiru,”
a
148-minute
movie,
doesn’t
work
in
its
entirety,
but
it’s
full
of
magnificent
parts.
“SAVED!”
IS
SIMPLY
one
of
the
all-time
greatest
high
school
movies.
It
is
the
film
“But
I’m
a
Cheerleader”
might
have
been
if
it
had
more
polish
and
included
a
broader
base
of
“sinners.”
It’s
also
the
movie
“Mean
Girls”
might
have
been
if
the
girls
were
really
mean.
Mandy
Moore
has
fun
with
her
squeaky
clean
image
as
Hilary
Faye,
the
leader
of
the
Christian
Jewels,
“sort
of,
like,
a
girl
gang
for
Jesus.”
But
this
is
fellow
Jewel
Mary’s
(Jena
Malone)
story.
Two
weeks
before
the
start
of
senior
year,
her
boyfriend,
Dean
(Chad
Faust),
tells
her
he’s
gay.
Devout
Christian
that
she
is,
Mary
tries
to
“cure”
him,
and
becomes
pregnant
in
the
process.
Dean’s
parents
send
him
to
Mercy
House,
where
they
deal
with
issues
such
as
“degayification
and
unwed
mothers.”
In
the
meantime,
Hilary
Faye’s
rebellious,
“differently
abled”
brother
Roland
(Macaulay
Culkin)
hooks
up
with
the
school’s
other
outsider,
Cassandra
(Eva
Amurri),
the
only
Jewish
student.
And
the
new
boy,
Patrick
(Patrick
Fugit),
is
the
son
of
school
principal
Pastor
Skip
(Martin
Donovan),
who
may
have
something
going
on
with
Mary’s
mother
(Mary-Louise
Parker).
The
elements
are
in
place
for
a
wonderful
moral
tale.
It’s
obvious
which
side
director/co-writer
Brian
Dannelly
is
on
but
his
wit
provides
delightful
surprises
every
step
of
the
way.
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