Competently done, well acted and well scored drama that nevertheless fails to fully engage due to a less than resonating storyline. There are interesting parallels between the personal and political aspects -- two nationalities/two girlfriends, despotic regime/despotic father -- but these parallels are not explored and it is up to the viewer to elaborate on them. Guilherme Fontes delivers a correct performance but who shines is undoubtedly Júlia Lemmertz as the refugee cousin. Today the film has the added interest of bringing back the eighties for those who lived during that time, and, for those who didn't, it must be interesting to compare both periods in terms of music style, clothing, general attitudes, etc.
2 Reviews
A disappointing film with some good acting
Rodrigo_Amaro2 September 2021
"The Color of Your Destiny" is a weak movie that had distinctive elements to be a good project. Here, Guilherme Fontes plays the young Paulo, son of a
Brazilian (Norma Bengell) and a Chilean (Franklin Caicedo) and he dreams of visiting Chile during the military regime where his older brother (Chico Díaz)
was killed by the military (of whom he has countless visions) and he wants to uncover the truth behind the mystery. His obsession knows no limits and to make things more confusing for him
he is personally tormented by a possible infidelity from his girlfriend (Andréa Beltrão). Things change a little for him when his cousin (Julia Lemmertz),
recently arrested for being a subversive element in Chile comes to visit the family and she shares stories about the conflicts in her homeland, and even so
Paulo is inclined to go there.
While the acting delivers inspired and beautiful moments from time to time, the bland script offers very little to us except in telling the delicate and dangerous state Chile was in in the late 1980's during the Pinochet era. Most of the time we keep seeing Paulo's visions of his older brother or him being uncivil with his girlfriend. One or two moments of humor make the film a little interesting but most of the time the story spins on circles of repetitive mode that leaves viewers bored and uninterested. I don't find the main character's motivations interesting or realistic, and not to mention he's a bit of a jerk that it's hard for us to root for him, he's too unsympathetic. When the movie is going all downhill comes the cousin to save us and inject some heart and realism into the story and Lemmertz acts brilliantly as a Chilean, she speaks only in Spanish so no concession was made for her being a character that somehow learns another language (in this case the Portuguese) in a matter of a days to appease the other characters. She's really lost in Brazil but enjoys the best she can while the annoying Paulo insists with his with of going to Chile.
Bottom of line: good acting can't save a film if the screenplay doesn't offer much to viewers. I was let down by this one but I'm kinda open to a possible revisit in the years to come. There's bits and pieces of it that make me feel nostalgic and entertained, specially the scenes involving the school parts or Paulo's friend charisma and presence, he's nicely played by Marcos Palmeira - he and Fontes also played friends in the brilliant "Dedé Mamata" (1988). 5/10.
While the acting delivers inspired and beautiful moments from time to time, the bland script offers very little to us except in telling the delicate and dangerous state Chile was in in the late 1980's during the Pinochet era. Most of the time we keep seeing Paulo's visions of his older brother or him being uncivil with his girlfriend. One or two moments of humor make the film a little interesting but most of the time the story spins on circles of repetitive mode that leaves viewers bored and uninterested. I don't find the main character's motivations interesting or realistic, and not to mention he's a bit of a jerk that it's hard for us to root for him, he's too unsympathetic. When the movie is going all downhill comes the cousin to save us and inject some heart and realism into the story and Lemmertz acts brilliantly as a Chilean, she speaks only in Spanish so no concession was made for her being a character that somehow learns another language (in this case the Portuguese) in a matter of a days to appease the other characters. She's really lost in Brazil but enjoys the best she can while the annoying Paulo insists with his with of going to Chile.
Bottom of line: good acting can't save a film if the screenplay doesn't offer much to viewers. I was let down by this one but I'm kinda open to a possible revisit in the years to come. There's bits and pieces of it that make me feel nostalgic and entertained, specially the scenes involving the school parts or Paulo's friend charisma and presence, he's nicely played by Marcos Palmeira - he and Fontes also played friends in the brilliant "Dedé Mamata" (1988). 5/10.
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