In Rio de Janeiro, when the socialite Delfina Delamare (Maitê Proença) is found dead in her Mercedez Benz with a shot in her heart, having a 22 caliber gun in her hand, the police conveniently believes she committed suicide, since she had leukemia and only six months of life. Delfina was the wife of the powerful Eugênio Delamare (Gracindo Júnior) and lover of the successful writer Gustavo Flávio (José Mayer). However, the honest, competent and incorruptible detective Guedes (Tony Ramos) is not convinced about the alleged "causa mortis", and when the receives the autopsy report, he finds that she had no powder on her fingers and the shirt was buttoned after the shot, and consequently she was murdered. Meanwhile, Gustavo is writing a novel, based on his life ten years ago as the Pan-American insurance investigator Ivan Canabrava, living with his mate Zilda (Zezé Polessa), when he found a huge fraud against Pan-American with the support of his friend Minolta (Isabel Guéron) and Prof. Ceresso (Juca de Oliveira), and hidden by Eugênio. The two stories are simultaneously unfolded, having a surprising open conclusion. "Bufo e Spallanzani" is a great Brazilian film-noir, having a great screenplay, magnificent direction and acting and wonderful locations in Rio de Janeiro and Serra da Bocaina. Based on a book of the famous Brazilian writer Rubem Fonseca, "Bufo e Spallanzani" presents two intriguing parallel tales, and is another excellent example of the present great moment of the Brazilian cinema. The beautiful naked body of Isabel Guéron is a collyrium for the eyes and the subtitle of this fictional tale could be "The Hard Life of an Incorruptible and Competent Brazilian Detective".
This movie participated of the following film festivals:
1) Festival do Rio BR; 2) Mar del Plata Festival; 3) Festival de Cinema do Recife ("hors concours"); 4) Miami Festival of Brazilian Movies: - Best Movie; - Best Screenplay; - Best Support Actor: Tony Ramos; - Best Soundtrack. 5) Montreal Festival ("hors concours"); 6) Festival de Gramado: - Best Lead Actor: Tony Ramos; - Best Lead Actress: Isabel Guéron; - Best Support Actor: Juca de oliveira; - Best Art Direction: Gualter Pupo. 7) Festival de Natal: - Best Support Actress: Zezé Polessa; - Best Art Direction: Gualter Pupo. 8) Del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano International Festival (Cuba Festival); 9) Palm Springs International Film Festival; 10) Tiburon International Film Festival; 11) Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema; 12) Chicago Latino Film Festival; and, 13) Paris Brazilian Cinema Festival.
The Brazilian DVD, released by Warner do Brasil, wrongly spells the French expression "hors concours" in the list of film festivals in the "Extra" and does not provide the year of each foregoing festival. Considering that Warner is not a minor distributor, it is a shame and a lack of respect with the Brazilian consumer! My vote is nine.
Title (Brazil): "Bufo e Spallanzani"
