A couple of attempts to finally see the whole thing and experience at first hand a satirical comedy made by a giant, the late
comic/cartoonist/life chronist Henfil in what would be his only venture in the movie business. 2 or 3 attempts in fact, they all got me to
sleep (even the final attempt put me to sleep but I made it through returning from where I left). Filmed during the early 1980's and released
in 1987, a year before his death, the film was a quite towering effort to get made (the script was written in the 1970's but changed over
the following years) and when it got released, it went unnoticed. No wonder, in a way. Here's a heavily unfunny picture that gives all the
basic needs in creating a criticism on fascism, republica of bananas kind of dictatorship, media and the world of fake news before the term
got coined.
"Tanga (Deu no New York Times?)" gathers plenty of talented actors to convey its portrayal of a chaotic little island run over
by a nazi-fascist dictator (Rubens Correa) who only believes on things if they're printed on The New York Times, including news from his
own island since there's no kind of press there to inform people. If the news appeared on the NYT then its truth, and he'll act based on it.
Going against him, there's the association of left-wing groups (from
Communists to women's rights, gay rights and a vodka drinker who reeks of idealisms from French revolution) who want to depose him but that
group as well also gets their news from the NYT read by the dictator, signaled by him through smoke signs when he burns the paper after
reading in a toilet that plays "Ride of the Valkyries" whenever he uses it (I could not understand how that group would understand the signal
and interpret it with facts if they're not reading the newspaper).
Anyway, I won't go further into explaining how chaotic and absurd this thing went. I believe that movies can deliver great satirical and/or
ironic things about life and politics, no problem, and I also believe in the theatre of the absurd as long as things get presented in a somewhat
base where you can imagine the scenario or situations happening rather than just being a complete riot where the story goes nowhere, everything is
redundant and lacking of humor. Henfil wasn't completely lost in any of his criticisms against the power establishment and their ways, and to a
certain extent his way of presenting the world of fake news and their impact is quite brilliant to see 30 years later (reflected through the
character he plays, the dictator's nephew). But he got erratic in the way things are presented, told and the humor becomes just a series of
quirky vignettes and all reasoning behind some characters motivations is completely lost.
It's not a case of a humorless movie, but it's a humor without the chance of laughter. I did not laugh once because the scenario and
criticism was so obvious that any attempt to get me to laugh were undermined early on. The few bits that had me with a grin on my face were
all revolving the communist groups and their schemes while hidden on a bunk. Ricardo Blat is always a phenomenal actor and he had great moments
in it; and another one that could be considered highly controversial these days and it escaped viewers back then relates with the gay faction
whose acronym goes as AIDS, a jab at media and their stories on associating the disease with gay men, when in fact writer/director Henfil was succumbing
to it, after a blood transfusion.
It pains my heart to give a thumbs down to this since I admire a lot of Henfil's work, either his cartoons - the little I could find and
know about - and a book he wrote about his experience while trying a career as cartoonist in the U. S., which is an amazingly funny chronicle
that shows the experience of a Brazilian living abroad. However, to see someone as talented and capable of delivering a great and funny material yet
failing so bad at it there's no salvation for it. For the work, I mean. The man had left brilliant things in his brief passage and those things are
the ones you should be following rather than this disappointing movie. 3/10.
