Mango Yellow (2002)

the audience applauded

Let's be realistic.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I'm giving this more stars than I normally would to counter-balance the bad reviews left by people who were only grossed out by it. I definitely can see why some people thought it to be obscene, but I think the directors choice of crassness is only one aspect of the film and criticisms of the film should keep that in mind. While many of the scenes are shocking, I didn't see them as completely non sequitur or senselessly gratuitous. Honestly, I've been more disgusted with watching local nightly news than this film. In the world we live in cows get slaughtered, angry sex can get weird, and people can be cold-blooded. I suppose I have a very liberal acceptance of film, but human beings are capable of odd and strange things; this film does not shy away from that. This is not a romantic comedy, it is an independent film based in the slums of Brazil.

People have done some terrible comments saying that it's one of the worst films they've ever seen and even telling other people not to waste their time watching it. I guess they didn't get the spirit of the film. It's NOT supposed to have a moral ending like most hollywoodian movies have. It just enters the lives of some people and how they connect at some point. The phrase in the ending reveals a lot about the meaning of the movie. It tells that there are some days that everything happens... changes are needed after some drastic events, dreams are crushed, etc. Despite that, life goes on. The world continues its existence no matter what have just happened to you and to those around you. I especially admired how the life of the butcher's wife changed after that day. From a super-religious woman, a very "correct" person, she changed to a sex maniac, thus exposing the true nature of her mind. There are some really interesting characters in this movie, with the priest being my favorite. I think his wisdom is just astonishing. Kinda anti-religious as someone commented here. Many movies have religious propaganda and you don't see anyone complaining about it. So, It's NOT a waste of time IF you watch without expectations, just "drink" the film the way it is and you'll like it.

I went to see this film based on the favourable comments from other Imdb users but I hated it. I am a foreigner living in Brazil and I can tell you that if I saw Brazil the way the director does, I would be on the next plane out of here. I thought the film was insulting, showing the misery in the most degrading and despising way. I am not denying of course that this misery exists but I don't think that the lower class is as repugnant as the film wants to portray it. Religious beliefs, which probably helps a lot of poor people cope with a harsh reality, is shown as a superficial veneer on top of some badly repressed bestiality. In the middle of a film which portrays all its characters as a bunch of near animals, there is a shot where a man is reading a book by Nietzsche. Was this irony? A "clin d'oeil" of the director to his middle class audience? I didn't know what to make of this. There have been some really good brazilian films lately (eu,tu,eles, central do Brasil,...) but this is not one of them. In fact it seems like a return to the really crap 70s brazilian films where compulsive swearing, unrealistic emotional intensity from beginning to end and any excuse to show a woman's pubic hair were the main ingredients.

This is one of the best brazilian movies I have ever seen. The way the characters' stories get connected to each other along the movie is really amazing. Some of all the poverty, violence and social disease so common at a humble landscape of Brazil is depicted on the screen through a great script and dazzling photography. Although the sharp sense of humour of some characters this movie contains the right amount of reality that some people may not feel comfortable to watch. For those who have the guts, this motion picture is a perfect portrait of a brazilian unfair society that may remain in the mind of the audiences for quite along. Shocking, hilarious and tough. Two thumbs up!