Murderers, rapists, stool pigeons, drug addicts.  They were the feared ones, the criminals who really ran Carandiru, Brazil’s largest correctional facility.  They were the prison’s elite, the select few who ruled by their own codes and laws.  A rule that would end in bloodshed when 300 policemen stormed the facility and murdered 111 unarmed inmates.  This is the true story of that infamous day in October 1992, a day that shocked the world.  The day of the Carandiru Massacre.

CRITIQUE

When one thinks, “prison film,” a million clichés come quickly to mind: evil wardens, race riots, rape, escape attempts, violent treatment, the whole bit.  Happily that is not the case with this film.  We see the inmates of this sprawling prison for what they are: human beings.  They have made mistakes, and some of them are brutal, violent men, but we are not shown violence for the sake of violence.  In fact, there is very little violence in the film before the ending.  The humanization the characters receive is the film’s strongest suit, and it is something that director Babenco (At Play In The Fields of the Lord, Ironweed) does very well.

Carandiru was the biggest prison in Latin America, housing between seven and eight thousand inmates.  The population – watched over by a tough but reasonable warden – is more than can be realistically managed, and the tensions the run beneath the surface of things, minor though they might be, are enough to make the outcome of the film sadly inevitable.  The center of the film is the unnamed Physician (Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos), who comes to the prison to do a study on the effects of AIDS.  He finds the disease running rampant, and its containment seems impossible.  The prisoners know about AIDS, most of them fully aware not only of the fact that they have the disease, but of how they got it, and they are not concerned enough about the epidemic to take any steps to stop it.  This sad fact adds another layer of tragedy to an already tragic situation.  As the Physician gets closer to them, the inmates open up to him more and more.  Through flashbacks we see what their lives were like on the outside.  The film is episodic in this way, each vignette shedding more and more light on the characters.  These little episodes humanize the characters to such a degree that we come to care about these guys, the throwaways of society, the dregs.  One of the most powerful scenes in the film is the scene where Dagger, a brutal killer, undergoes a religious conversion after one of his nightmares.  This scene, like the whole film, forces us to give consideration to the hardest of the hard cases.

When the Physician finishes his study and leaves the prison, the center is gone, and that is when all hell breaks loose.  Shortly after his departure, the prison unravels, either for no reason or for a million little reasons, no one seems to know.  The ending is delivered in a Rashomon style, the prisoners telling their version to the Physician after the fact.  Scuffles break out throughout the prison, and the police come in, showing an unbelievable level of brutality, as if the men in the prison were dogs.  This is all the more unsettling after we have spent the entire film seeing how human they all are.  They kill with impunity.  What were minor disputes at the outset are made worse when the iron fist of the police crashes down on them.

Carandiru does well with the human stories it tells, but the film goes on too long in places, and some scenes, particularly in the end, seem to on at length for no other reason than dramatic effect.  The overall acting is strong, but there are a few roles that are not as strong as they should be.  This is especially noticeable in the more dramatic moments, where a strong presence is needed.  Babenco seems to let the material overwhelm him at times, as if he does not know where to stop.  The last few minutes of the film, showing the 2002 demolition of the prison, seems tacked on and feels out of place.  Overall, this is a solid film, and it is highly watchable, but it would have been improved if the director could have only reigned in the material a bit.

THE VIDEO

Carandiru is presented in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio.  The picture is clean and sharp, preserving completely the grittiness of the film’s photography.  The color levels are well represented, and the overall picture looks great.

THE AUDIO

The audio on this DVD is presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital sound, in the original Portuguese with subtitles in English, French, Korean, Chinese and Thai.  The audio presentation is solid, with a nice wide dispersal.  This is q quiet film for the most part, so there are not a lot of effects here to tax your system, but the presentation does the film justice.

THE EXTRAS

Director’s Commentary: Babenco talks about making the film, and how the film relates to the actual events.

Historical Footage: two pieces of footage.  One is a silent documentary from 1928 that shows what day-to-day life in the prison was like.  This is an interesting look at the prison conditions and the inmates of the period.  The second piece is a short clip that shows the prison’s demolition in 2002.

The Making of Carandiru: a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film.  We see Babenco directing, and the actors talk about how they created their characters.  The doctor who wrote the book on which the film is based also talks about writing the book and watching the film being made.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Carandiru is a striking film.  The film goes on a bit too long at times, and not all of the acting is as strong as it could be, but the overall film is very watchable.  It mixes humor and tragedy, and paints the inmates of the prison as human beings.  That is its greatest strength.