Movie Review: The Edge of Democracy

The Edge of Democracy *** ½ / *****

Directed by: Petra Costa.

Written by: Petra Costa and Carol Pires and David Barker and Moara Passoni and Daniela Capelato and Antonia Pellegrino and Virginia Primo.

 

Petra Costa’s sad, contemplative documentary about Brazil’s recent slide into right wing demagoguery is a film that seems like it was made for the express purpose of exporting to people who aren’t in Brazil. As a look into the scandals, real, imagined or a mixture of both, that rocked Brazil – leading one popular former President to be jailed, a current President to be impeached, and the rise of Brazil’s Trump – The Edge of Democracy doesn’t really go much past the surface level. Hell, I’m not even sure it goes that far – for all the time devoted to “Operation Car Wash” that took down the left leaning presidents, the film never really does let you know where it stands on their culpability and responsibility for it. It’s certainly not a film that anyone will claim is fair and balanced – giving both sides, and letting the audience decide, because it certainly does have a point-of-view. In a way though, that doesn’t really matter. The film is about hypocrisy, who the right uses the media to push their agenda, and how they hold others to different standards, etc. It is about the fragility of democratic institutions – ones that only maintain power if we believe in them, like they’re Tinkerbell. Otherwise they die. Costa has made her film about her own country – but it’s a warning to everyone outside of it, about how all this ends.

 

Costa’s voice is ever presented in the film – she narrates it all in a soft, sad voice. She does try and draw parallels to herself and Brazil’s democracy – they are the same age, being born in the mid-1980s, just as Brazil was coming out of decades of military rule. Her parents were activists who went into hiding in those years – but Costa is a child of privilege in many ways. Oddly, I kind of think Costa either had to go harder into drawing these parallels, or back off a little more. As it stands, it’s a half measure – and doesn’t always work.

 

Costa is on stronger ground when she tells the story first of President Lula, and especially his handpicked successor – Dilma Rousseff, Brazil’s first female President, and the one who will face impeachment after she narrowly wins re-election in 2014, and her opponent goes overboard claiming the results are legitimate. Her regime was scandal ridden – but did she actually do anything wrong? Was it Lula – was it others? When her opponents are pressed as to why she should be impeached, they don’t have much of real import to say – it’s more about her personality and style, rather than doing anything wrong. When she is impeached, and similar charges of corruption are leveled at the new President – and 80% of the Brazilian people want him investigated – the same politicians who voted to impeach her, vote not to even investigate him. They cannot keep changing Presidents willy-nilly you know.

 

It’s the cynicism that leads to the rise of someone like Bolsanaro - a man who will say anything just to gain power, and doesn’t care. He’s a liar, you know she’s a liar, but what are you going to do about it? He’s able to whip everyone into a nationalistic frenzy, and then capitalize on it.

 

The Edge of Democracy is a sad film – and yet one that ends with at least a little hope. If Democracy dies when you stop believing in it, you can bring it back when you do believe in it. Brazil is in dark days right now – hell, America is there too, and there’s many places around the world that are there. Costa’s film is a warning about where it’s heading – with at least a little bit of hope to get out of it.