Good Manners

If they could try little bit harder, they would make a mini-series for Netflix. It's so long that make you feel you are watching 3 movies in a row. Yes, there are 3 main plots that each can be separately filmed as full feature. Or as i said, it could turn out to be a good mini series for VOD platforms.

These different tones in the movie makes it difficult to comprehend what movie is trying to tell which is also shallow and mainstream. 6 points goes for cinematography and courage to make such a film.

The werewolf myth is about the innocent who is damned.

The myth's fascination stems precisely from the fact that the condition of becoming a furious monster can strike a person who has done nothing wrong.

What if this inherent innocence of the myth were taken to its ultimate consequences, and the curse affected a child?

That's the wonderful premise of one of the best werewolf films of all time "The Good Manners" (a Brazil-France coproduction, shot in São Paulo).

Attention: it is not your conventional jump scare movie (although it has a few chills here and there). The film mixes with wisdom and creativity different genres. It is a dark fairy tale in which horror, comedy, drama and even musical numbers blends altogether. Makes sense, since one of the main references are the Disney old animated feature films.

It's two stories in one. The first half has a Hitchcockian tradition: the filmmakers do not hide from the audience the true nature of what is happening, but the protagonists still do not know. So we are apprehensive, hoping for them to find out. The second half is totally unpredictable and the stakes are higher.

An absolute highlight is the musical score form brothers Guilherme and Gustavo Garbato, with chilling and beautiful lullabies.

When watching the movie you can see what they are trying to do but the execution sucks.

And i'm not sure if having more money would solve anything cause the plot itself is shallow.

It's like the movie came from the mind of a 10 year old trying to impress adults.

Great acting by Isabél Zuaa and Marjorie Estiano, good practical effects, a lot of creativity in the narrative, nice design. One of the best in the recent "wave" of Brazilian horror flicks.

Mubi's "our take" on this film reads: "Springing from an urban legend, this ferociously inventive Brazilian "creature feature" combines sharp social observation and lesbian desire with unsettling fantasy elements. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at Locarno, Good Manners is a visually exciting and boundary-pushing gem of genre cinema." Whoever wrote this probably didn't watch the film and merely skimmed the synopsis.

This is a captivating fantasy/drama/horror film, a French-Brazilian co-production, with a unique take on the werewolf mythos that blends the cinematic languages of both countries into its narrative and execution.

This film came onto my radar due to its inclusion in the BFI selection, and it has also competed in the Locarno International Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, and São Paulo International Film Festival, even winning an award at Locarno.

If you have the time and an interest in genre-bending cinema, you definitely shouldn't miss this one.