Once There Was Brasilia (2017) - Adirley Queirós

Featuring a non-narrative based formalism and a bare-bones budget,  Adirley Queirós' Once There Was A Brasilia is a fierce piece of political filmmaking which uses the science fiction genre to elevate the visceral nature of its expression.   Using non-professional actors, Once There Was A Brasilia is a free-flowing story about class revolt, an angry film which comments on the perpetual promises and failures of Brazilian democracy.  Efficient economic filmmaking successful transforms a micro-budget feature into a larger-than-life science fiction epic, elevating the stakes onto an epic scale for a microbudget, which is ingenious given the film's not so coy real-world assertions.  The sci-fi component is minimalist in design, with the filmmakers using a great amount of ingenuity; the way lighting and framing is used to make the film feel larger than life, even though its anger is very much rooted in non-fiction ideas.  The free-flowing nature of the narrative does make the film begin to feel tedious, as pacing becomes a problem in the back half.  In fact, one can't help but question if Once There Was A Brasilia would have been best served as a 30 minutes short as opposed to a 100 minute feature, as the film's fierce topical nature only feels deteriorated by a  film that becomes overlong.  Once There Was A Brasilia is brazen and bold, calling for a class revolt of the oligarchy but the film falls short at times in its political commentary, never stopping to question the true nature of statism in the first place, fixated on the will of the people, which almost always ends up meaning the will of I.  The film never seems to truly wrestle with the ideas of authority philosophically, accepting that such a power structure is fine when its controlled by the good guys (or the masses, which are rarely the same thing).  This wouldn't be a problem per se, but it's more just surprising when considering the film's ability to recognize the failings of democracy in Brazil, showcasing how no matter who wins the election, the same speeches are given about change, but nothing changes.  A wildly creative, fiercely topical critique of Brazil, Once There Was A Brasilia is a fascinating work that should be seen, despite the faults of its overlong running time.