A Cobra Fumou

After the great Senta a Pua!, about Brazilian aviators in Italy, I had high expectations about A Cobra Fumou. Big disappointment. The documentary, instead of being divided according to subject, is divided according to interviews. So, a veteran is interviewed, tells it all and we won't see him again. Then, another veteran is interviewed, will speak it all (somethimes about the same subjects of the previous guy) and that's it. C'mon: if two or more people talk about the same thing (let's say, the draft), wouldn't it make more sense to put these parts together? Besides, the documentary has a lot of useless talk by the editor - things that fit in a making of, not the movie itself. We don't care if the director only managed to talk to someone in the third attempt. The final impression is that the documentary had no screenplay at all. Looks like each interview was poorly edited and put on film before they talked with the next veteran. Our war heroes deserved much better.

I echo the previous comments made about this attempt at a documentary.

The crew had little if any ideas on how to make interesting interviews with the veterans. From some of the scenes, it is obvious they had absolutely no previous knowledge of the subject on which to base their questions.

The veterans are treated almost as an oddity, as bizarre remnants of a forgotten episode to which the producer, interviewer and director cannot relate to. At some points it is unclear whether the veterans are being seriously questioned or ridiculed.

A waste of an opportunity to make a relevant contribution to this theme.

A documentary is not only a report through the eyes of the producer. It's also a report through the "eyes" of the subject. And when you want to tell a story, you need to engage yourself in it. This is not the case with "A Cobra Fumou". This documentary was aired some months ago by The History Channel, and unfortunately is bad, very bad. The producer focus his work based on two points: the ridiculous and the tragical. So you laugh or you cry. Any analysis of the Brazilian Army campaign in the lands of Italy in WWII, their reasons or consequences? Forget it. In a scene the producer shows a veteran, dressed with his old uniform, stood beside a swimming pool, in the back of his house. The producer asks him: "So you dated many Italian girls there, huh?"... In another interview, an officer poses with his picture in hands. "But this thing will look ridiculous, don't you think?", the officer says to the producer. "No, no, it won't"... The highest point is an interview with a nurse, a little bit extravagant with her coiffure, probably the only concern of the crew.

Another stereotype explored is the "social conflict" between enlisted and officers. In an attempt to contrast with the old man in his (small) pool, some enlisted are interviewed at the doors of their simple buildings in Rio de Janeiro.

The Brazilian campaign was very important not only to the military, but to the course of war in Italy. Important points were taken, like Monte Castello, in despite of low resources and lack of experience from the soldiers (so-called "pracinhas"). But the documentary is skin-depth, insisting on stereotypes of any Brazilian soap-opera: the fun, the drama and the "social". This important chapter of Brazilian history really needed more respect.

(I strongly recommend Erik Castro's "Senta a Pua!", a very sensible and well-produced documentary about Brazilian aviation campaign in WWII.)