A Viagem

25 years ago there was this haunting soap-opera named "A Viagem" that got a huge audience despite being outside of the prime time schedule while the usual series of that slot end up being a failure. Back then I was an impressive kid who grew up only to remember the scenes where one of the main characters was trapped in hell. That was all I could remember and it was a traumatic experience though I can't remember if I watched the whole thing. Cut to 2018/2019 period, I went through lots of life changes where I was asking myself questions of matters of life, death, mortality and after-life and the memories of such series made me curious in getting the full scope and understanding what it was all about. Trouble was that as a film addict I always had a trouble in watching soap-operas (yes, I grew up with them, and this was the very first of which I had childhood memories but as I grew up I couldn't stand the format, the lack of artistry, message and technical aspects, so I avoided them when I got to know more about movies and their qualities). However, I'm not sure if it's a matter of chance or a magnet from spiritual worlds that brought me back to it and now I'm here to praise this spectacle that changed many people's lives and conquered a whole generation. It was my first soap opera back in 1994 and it was my very first from beginning to end in the 21st Century - sort of run, cos the re-run's usually cut something out. No regrets!

"A Viagem" ("The Journey") revolves around Spiritism and Allan Kardec's teachings on the matter yet that's a secondary issue on the series that takes some time to develop. The Journey (or trip, some could say) is the transition a person makes as of getting out of their earthly life to go to another dimmension being heaven, hell or as presented in the show "the suicidal valley", which is what I got traumatized when I was little. 200 episodes so it'll be hard to present a summary but I'll try: Alexandre (Guilherme Fontes) is caught stealing money from his company and accidentally kills the only witness of the event; then he goes to jail sentenced to 19 years which seems a burden to him and there he commits suicide. But not before declaring revenge on those who put him in such situation like his own brother, his brother-in-law and Otávio Jordão (Antonio Fagundes), a lawyer friend of the victim who was decisive in Alexandre's conviction - and he was one of the toppest lawyers ever to the point where Alexandre's sister Dinah (Christiane Torloni) asks for his services to help her brother. From there, the story goes in two ways: where we follow the living folks with an unusual twist of events where Dinah and Otávio go from mortal enemies to the most loving couple in the world; and Alexandre's revenge on his enemies or relatives even though he's dead. There are lots of characters, divisions between rich and poor segments but the main connection in between and the one who makes the difference is the omnipresent Dr. Alberto (Cláudio Cavalcanti), who devotes his time not only healing people's bodies and health but also conducts meetings at his home devoted to Spiritism, and he's the one who is capable of helping Dinah, Otávio and others from Alexandre's bad influence and also to give him some guidance towards forgiveness and compassion in order to evolve as a spirit and possibly future human.

With a religion or not having any, "A Viagem" appeals to all kinds of audiences due to its concern in presenting all variations of faith, religion, creeds or neither of them - even its main focus is Kardec's teachings which makes us evaluate things in a non preachy way, it's quite didatic yet valid so you can later on make your search on the topic. The fight between good vs. Evil is compelling and frightening, not only Alexandre's ways of revenge (it all goes on layered deals until he claims his first solid victim...or his attacks on his brother-in-law, Téo - played by Maurício Mattar - who is constantly possesed and the current generation of viewers coined the term of someone being Alexandrado, or to be in the possession of an evil spirit); but also the battles that are fought by the earthly people. Alexandre is spooky, but Ismael (played by a frightening and terrifying Jonas Bloch) is the most malignant villain of all, a pure evil guy who takes away his daughter from her loving mother (Lucinha Lins) after he being absent for years while committing all sorts of crimes - with that comparison all the trouble goes to Dr. Alberto who prays for Alexandre's evoultion and tries to prevent Ismael's influence on his wife and kid.

All good performances from the cast but the highgliths goes to all the mentioned names; Andréa Beltrão as Lisa (Alxandre's ex; Téo's future girlfriend); Ary Fontoura, Nair Bello, Lolita Rodrigues; and the show introduced me to veterans Tânia Scher, Leonardo José, Lafayette Galvão; or newcomers such as Eduardo Felipe, Irving São Paulo and Kiko Mascarenhas. It isn't all tragedy, fights, jealousy; there's some room for love, tender moments and the happy village where everyone hasn't got a dime but they find their way to happiness. Worthy of mention the soundtrack which the classic main theme, and other ones that became hits in 1994 - most of them I started to enjoy more after becoming recurring themes in here. The show makes all the rights turns, plot twists and as usual with soap, all gets good in the ending (though I was deeply disappointed with Mascarado's fate - he's a faceless man who uses of a mask and funny clothes to charm the village with acts of kindness and charity work).

The deeper thoughts are destined to understand what the journey means, if we'll believe in it or not, and how our transition goes from souls and bodies - it's almost like a softened version of "Cloud Atlas" (which by the way was translated as "A Viagem" in here). I don't have much a take about it, but as long as I kept seeing the characters transitions I started to think more about what I do in life, the acts, hearts and minds I can transform as long as I'm in this current journey. 10/10.