Burning Night

There is a popular saying in Brazil that says: "A psychologist just doesn't hear more problems than a taxi driver". As much as there may be a certain exaggeration, it is impossible to totally deny this statement, so much so that by providing so much margin for the development of narratives, that taxi and taxi driver have always been used throughout the history of cinema, as this strategy allows showing one of a given social reality.

Here, director Erik Rocha and screenwriters Fabio Andrade and Julia Ariani tell us the story of taxi driver Paulo who, from the very first minutes, presents himself as someone who is unwilling to deal with any type of intimacy with his passengers. Always giving quick answers, Paulo is only interested in two things during the taxi rides: the address and the payment. However, as the film progresses, small revelations are made about the man, it is revealed to us that behind his mask lives a father who dreams of paying child support to be able to see his son again.

Always traveling at night, Paulo travels across Rio de Janeiro, transporting people of all kinds, while observing through the windshield the figure of a country that seems to be sicker every day. It is interesting to observe how, through Whatsapp groups, Paulo's fellow taxi drivers announce tragedies, murders, protests, traffic jams, etc. The comrades' attitude of helping each other underscores how routine Brazil's tragic reality is becoming.

Burning Sun is a film that needs to be seen and debated so that we can understand how we ended up in our current situation.