The best film of Cacá Diegues's career together with Bye bye Brazil (or perhaps even better!). Deep and sensitive, with well developped characters, dealing with classes, family and affection. It is a very psychological film, traveling through two generations. Since the very first scenes it shows that it is beautifully filmed and that it is not an ordinary movie. All actors also do a good job.
6 Reviews
An excellent movie
sherazade9270015 January 2007
It is a touching love story. I am not a fan of Drama movies but this one is worth watching. I enjoyed to see the scenes from past and present as well as the actors portrayed very well the different facades of Brazilian society and culture. The events are played in a way that they connect very well. The main actor was excellent. The movie touches our heart with the events played and I am usually called "strong" because I wouldn't cry in movies but I definitely recommend you bringing a box of Klenexx if you want to watch this movie. It was a well deserved award as the best movie in the Canadian Festival in 2006. I would definitely recommend this movie and I would also consider in watching it again if I ever had the chance.
This isn't the Greatest Love of All
gbx066 April 2008
Warning: Spoilers
As with the majority of Latin American Cinema, with the exception of a few cases that are worthy of comment, it appears that it is only necessary that a film became a blockbuster so a lot of movie director made a lot of copies of it, which differ only in form but show the same coin. It is a film more, it is neither THE film nor the great story ever told.
From City of God it would appear that are only favelas in Brazil and we remain honest because of the latest exported films all developed there. Remember the Berlin festival (Maré or Elite squad) that best suit. The film, although it is based on a different story, falls into the same areas of violence, drug addiction, reflection on violence against children, and crossing the drama of a man who knows that he is going to die.
And it is that although Jose Wilker, or at least his character appears throughout the film, never achieves a connection with the audience, nor its drama is so shocking or her life so important. Thus we witness their problems that will be overcome gradually finding its origins and achieve close its door to the past, but just when the film begins to fall into deep in something interesting, there credits appears and we realize that we seen one and a half hours while it had died in the first five minutes would have said the same.
Thus the film can be summed up in anything, because he wants to talk about everything and never dares to delve into many interesting topics, such as the tortuous relationship of the father and son, mystical love of her mother, thinking about the inevitable fate, or continuous cycle at the end. Not. None of this matters while as kid that sells drugs died instead of a man who lives thinking about his closer death.
Simple and simply I prefer City of God.
From City of God it would appear that are only favelas in Brazil and we remain honest because of the latest exported films all developed there. Remember the Berlin festival (Maré or Elite squad) that best suit. The film, although it is based on a different story, falls into the same areas of violence, drug addiction, reflection on violence against children, and crossing the drama of a man who knows that he is going to die.
And it is that although Jose Wilker, or at least his character appears throughout the film, never achieves a connection with the audience, nor its drama is so shocking or her life so important. Thus we witness their problems that will be overcome gradually finding its origins and achieve close its door to the past, but just when the film begins to fall into deep in something interesting, there credits appears and we realize that we seen one and a half hours while it had died in the first five minutes would have said the same.
Thus the film can be summed up in anything, because he wants to talk about everything and never dares to delve into many interesting topics, such as the tortuous relationship of the father and son, mystical love of her mother, thinking about the inevitable fate, or continuous cycle at the end. Not. None of this matters while as kid that sells drugs died instead of a man who lives thinking about his closer death.
Simple and simply I prefer City of God.
Quotes
melinabial19 October 2006
"A beautiful movie that we highly recommend." Odile Tremblay, Le Devoir, Newspaper (Montreal, Canada)
"A reflection about the meaning of life, in a very beautiful movie." Marc-André Lussier, La Presse Montreal, Newspaper (Montreal, Canada)
"'The Greatest Love of all' is a beautiful movie, as a concept and in its execution. The director, also writer of the script, chooses the right way to the story and goes through it with skillfulness and conviction. A brilliant performance by José Wilker, and the camera work is really great." Leonardo Maia, Jornal do Brasil, Newspaper (Rio de Janeiro).
"The entire Brazil fits in this film and the greatest love is the love for life. It's the work of a mature artist in harmony with his time." Luiz Carlos Merten, O Estado de São Paulo, Newspaper (São Paulo).
"Since the first scene of this film, it's a poetic prospective that opens up for our eyes, where beauty comes out when we least expect." Cássio Sarling Carlos, Folha de São Paulo, Newspaper (São Paulo).
"The sublime performance of the cast is an essential part of my willing to see this film infinite times." Jorge Mautner, Jornal do Brasil, Newspaper (Rio de Janeiro).
"Carlos Diegues's best film in the last 20 years, 'The Greatest Love of All' is a sensible and touching film." Artur Xexéo, O Globo, Newspaper (Rio de Janeiro).
"I cried a lot in Diegues's film, I think it is beautiful, tough and generous, without a doubt a film that believes in the image." Maria do Rosário Caetano, Almanaque/Revista de Cinema, Monthly Magazine (Rio de Janeiro).
"'The Greatest Love of All' is a love story, a road movie with a documental touch." Ana Paula Sousa, Carta Capital, Weekly Magazine (São Paulo).
"It's a beautiful piece of work, full of love for Brazil, with regard to the country's contradictions and understanding towards human being. And still brings us a great performance by José Wilker." Luiz Zanin Oricchio, Guia de O Estado de São Paulo, Weekly Magazine (São Paulo).
"'The Greatest Love of All' is the best film by Carlos Diegues, maybe because it condenses the path of an entire generation. It must be seen the same way you read a poem or if it were the construction of a dream." Zuenir Ventura, O Globo, Newspaper (Rio de Janeiro).
"The beautiful thing about the story told by Diegues is that the main character seeks the love he never had, because it's always time to learn how to love. The film is a free, happy parabola about this truth." Contardo Calligaris, Folha de São Paulo,Newspaper (São Paulo).
"One of the more human and poetic films by Diegues, and the best performance ever by José Wilker. Almost a poetic transfiguration, straitening life up, a romantic drama." Rubens Ewald Filho, Flash, Weekly Magazine (São Paulo).
"Carlos Diegues takes excluded people from the border to the center of the screen, mainly when he aims his camera to Rio's lowlands, and makes his most beautiful and touching film of recent years." Leonardo Ferreira, Extra, Newspaper (Rio de Janeiro).
"In a nonstop search for the comprehension of the human soul, the result is a roller-coaster of emotions like in few Brazilian films. A road movie, not only through the heart of the main character, but also through the inside of a city that Diegues knows like the palm of his had." Lúcio Flavio, Correio Braziliense, Newspaper (Brasília).
"It's impossible to be happy alone, sang Tom Jobim in the song called 'Wave'. In 'The greatest love of all', Carlos Diegues reaffirms the composer, but in a melancholy way, through the story of this astrophysicist played by José Wilker in a delicate and restrained performance". Rubia Mazzini, O Dia, Newspaper (Rio de Janeiro).
"José Wilker reigns from the first to the last scene". Edgar Lopes, Época, Weekly Magazine (Rio de Janeiro).
"Carlos Diegues recovers the route of drama in a moving, sensitive and painfully sad story". Miguel Barbieri Jr., Veja SP, Weekly Magazine (São Paulo).
"It is simply magic. There is no recipe to make such a beautiful, cruel and so cathartic film". Gerald Thomas, Folha de São Paulo, Newspaper (São Paulo)
"A reflection about the meaning of life, in a very beautiful movie." Marc-André Lussier, La Presse Montreal, Newspaper (Montreal, Canada)
"'The Greatest Love of all' is a beautiful movie, as a concept and in its execution. The director, also writer of the script, chooses the right way to the story and goes through it with skillfulness and conviction. A brilliant performance by José Wilker, and the camera work is really great." Leonardo Maia, Jornal do Brasil, Newspaper (Rio de Janeiro).
"The entire Brazil fits in this film and the greatest love is the love for life. It's the work of a mature artist in harmony with his time." Luiz Carlos Merten, O Estado de São Paulo, Newspaper (São Paulo).
"Since the first scene of this film, it's a poetic prospective that opens up for our eyes, where beauty comes out when we least expect." Cássio Sarling Carlos, Folha de São Paulo, Newspaper (São Paulo).
"The sublime performance of the cast is an essential part of my willing to see this film infinite times." Jorge Mautner, Jornal do Brasil, Newspaper (Rio de Janeiro).
"Carlos Diegues's best film in the last 20 years, 'The Greatest Love of All' is a sensible and touching film." Artur Xexéo, O Globo, Newspaper (Rio de Janeiro).
"I cried a lot in Diegues's film, I think it is beautiful, tough and generous, without a doubt a film that believes in the image." Maria do Rosário Caetano, Almanaque/Revista de Cinema, Monthly Magazine (Rio de Janeiro).
"'The Greatest Love of All' is a love story, a road movie with a documental touch." Ana Paula Sousa, Carta Capital, Weekly Magazine (São Paulo).
"It's a beautiful piece of work, full of love for Brazil, with regard to the country's contradictions and understanding towards human being. And still brings us a great performance by José Wilker." Luiz Zanin Oricchio, Guia de O Estado de São Paulo, Weekly Magazine (São Paulo).
"'The Greatest Love of All' is the best film by Carlos Diegues, maybe because it condenses the path of an entire generation. It must be seen the same way you read a poem or if it were the construction of a dream." Zuenir Ventura, O Globo, Newspaper (Rio de Janeiro).
"The beautiful thing about the story told by Diegues is that the main character seeks the love he never had, because it's always time to learn how to love. The film is a free, happy parabola about this truth." Contardo Calligaris, Folha de São Paulo,Newspaper (São Paulo).
"One of the more human and poetic films by Diegues, and the best performance ever by José Wilker. Almost a poetic transfiguration, straitening life up, a romantic drama." Rubens Ewald Filho, Flash, Weekly Magazine (São Paulo).
"Carlos Diegues takes excluded people from the border to the center of the screen, mainly when he aims his camera to Rio's lowlands, and makes his most beautiful and touching film of recent years." Leonardo Ferreira, Extra, Newspaper (Rio de Janeiro).
"In a nonstop search for the comprehension of the human soul, the result is a roller-coaster of emotions like in few Brazilian films. A road movie, not only through the heart of the main character, but also through the inside of a city that Diegues knows like the palm of his had." Lúcio Flavio, Correio Braziliense, Newspaper (Brasília).
"It's impossible to be happy alone, sang Tom Jobim in the song called 'Wave'. In 'The greatest love of all', Carlos Diegues reaffirms the composer, but in a melancholy way, through the story of this astrophysicist played by José Wilker in a delicate and restrained performance". Rubia Mazzini, O Dia, Newspaper (Rio de Janeiro).
"José Wilker reigns from the first to the last scene". Edgar Lopes, Época, Weekly Magazine (Rio de Janeiro).
"Carlos Diegues recovers the route of drama in a moving, sensitive and painfully sad story". Miguel Barbieri Jr., Veja SP, Weekly Magazine (São Paulo).
"It is simply magic. There is no recipe to make such a beautiful, cruel and so cathartic film". Gerald Thomas, Folha de São Paulo, Newspaper (São Paulo)
Nicely shot junk
oneloveall31 January 2008
This Brazilian "coming-of-death" small film might have had a few favorable ingredients to start but grew more tiresome as it went on. Nothing felt particularly believable or interesting, instead playing out like a naive filmmaker's middle-aged existential fantasy. The lead older male who revolves around the whole thing feels like a one-note schmuck, entirely more then as his character was written as, leaving nary a hint of charisma in his wake.
The second-rate City of God slum-and-garbage type locations basically serve as the highlight; they were exploited just enough to remain visually compelling even when the unimpressive romantic, mystery, and action elements inside this plodding character study definitively fail.
The second-rate City of God slum-and-garbage type locations basically serve as the highlight; they were exploited just enough to remain visually compelling even when the unimpressive romantic, mystery, and action elements inside this plodding character study definitively fail.
Disappointment
rosedickens22 September 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Before watching this movie I read some good reviews about it but I was kind of disappointed in it. Despite great performances by the cast I think the director told the story in a very male conservative point of view, i.e., the forty-something maestro has a pretty intelligent caring wife but he has an affair with a poor beautiful teenager that lives in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. First of all it is hard to understand why this girl would even fall in love for this man who besides being much older and not handsome at all is a very boring person. Anyway the girl gets pregnant and the obnoxious maestro leaves her to give birth to his own child in that poor neighborhood deprived of health assistance and she ends up dying at delivery. He later tells the boy that he was born ahead time, is that an excuse for not helping her at child birth? In my opinion it was a moral obligation at least to provide her a safer and cleaner place to live from the beginning of her pregnancy. But the worst thing is that the ghost of the girl 55 years late talks about this love affair as a wonderful marvelous thing! Like it was worth dying abandoned so young and in such a stupid way for a couple of weeks of love with that annoying man... I mean this portraits just the fantasy of most men: to be middle aged and still able to have young girls falling for them and even dying for a moment of love with them... That even brings us to the sex scene between the main character, Antonio, and the young girl, Luciana. Again a much older man having an affair with much younger girl, why couldn't he fall in love with someone older like his assistant?? Anad what about the old lady who has just lost her grandson to the traffic war in Rio, thinking that it would be a good idea that Luciana have a baby of dying man in that poverty scenario having to raise the kid by her own... very pretty story just in the mind of the author!! Nothing looks very realistic in the drama of those lives, the only message left is that older men married or not should pursue the fantasy of having an affair with a young teenager...
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