While nothing is new in cinematic terms neither the plot, "A Morte Transparente" ("The Transparent Death", yet somehow the international title was "Runnin' After Love")
is one of those films that walk a thin line between being good or bad but it's all subjective to each viewer. A great majority will find it terrible due to the quality of acting
which has as lead actor then future TV host Wagner Montes in his film debut; but on the other hand some will see some appeal in a story with many twists and turns. I liked it for the
most part, just find that some moments are quite embarassing, some of the actors are stiff but on a final analysis it turned out to be good, there's some good plot twists and for
a little while it escapes from some cliches of the decade in terms of Brazilian films.
The movie stars Montes as Beto, a young slacker who divides his time between petty robberies with his mates and some bed-sharing moments with a gay pimp who always save him
in times of trouble. One afternoon, the group decides to rob and rape a beautiful woman (Bibi Vogel) but their plan fail and she drowns in her pool. When Beto is arrested by the cops,
the woman returns alive and drops the charges against him, and later on they are romantically involved and a murderous plan to kill her rich husband to collect the insurance money
begins and many problems as well. If you never seen such scenario in a movie then considered yourself blessed and this movie will become something of an original work. Definitely not, we all see that ever
since the creation of narratives in movies.
What makes this movie slightly different from the stories released at the time when it comes to action, suspense and scenes of sexual nature? Carlos Hugo Christensen had a preference
for dealing with themes of problematic youths, dangerous love affairs, immoral behaviour and such. What differs his movies and characters from many other similar themed films is that
he throws gay characters who are well-constructed in the plot and it's not in a hurtful or cliched way where they're usually exploited, beaten or killed, and for that time it was quite
progressive their portrayals. That's interesting. And unlike many similar cliched projects, the sex scenes are quite meek and far from being exploitative (90% of the 1970's-1980's
movies the women are all beautifully naked to serve some ugly men). Christensen's scenes are quiet and serve a purpose in the plot, and he's more interested in the developing of the
story than leaving audiences turned on with one action/sex scene after another as the story stays on a second plan.
But there's some obstacles on the way because there isn't much of a higher purpose for the story neither to those characters as they keep deceiving each other and things go all
downhill. It's mindless entertainment, watchable and does not cause any harm unless if you consider Montes performance which goes from hilariously bad to painfully strange - the scene
at the pool with his mates where he keeps laughing at the woman is annoying and it feels like it never ends. Another point that must be made is the use of disco music on the soundtrack,
some themes are quite good though I have no idea who are the artists, but there's this violent sequence where Beto punches a guy because he wants to take his girlfriend where the music
starts playing but it's not a tense music, it's a fun track to dance - it was a ridiculous combination that didn't even allowed me to laugh because he was hurting the guy, no one was
doing anything to help and then he kicked the girl in the face (not to mention that the whole sequence was insanely random just because he had a negative setback with his lover).
In between some thrills and the constant sense of curiosity brought on by the story and some erratic moments, there's one special surprise in the appearance of young
actor Osmar de Mattos. It's a lot later in the movie so it's best to not reveal his importance in the story. Not only he was a quite good actor but he was also a great on-screen
presence, with some amazing good looks that can cause some jaw-dropping (and I mean literally). It's sad that this is his only film performance, he made a couple of telenovelas (at
the time of this film he was in "Dancin' Days") and sadder than all that was that he died at a very young age on a car crash. But he steals the show from everybody. So, even if you
watch the movie and think it was terrible you can't complain about him.
Well, I liked this movie and I had my share of fun. It kept me going even when it was being strange and annoying, it didn't made me bored and at least they had some interesting
ending to show - though I'm not sure if I can accept it completely. A lovely way to spend the night. Try not to find a meaning to it and just be ready to be entertained. 6/10.
