Brainstorm (2001)

Brainstorm (Portuguese: Bicho de Sete Cabeças) is a 2000 drama film directed by Laís Bodanzky based on the autobiographical book Canto dos Malditos by Austregésilo Carrano Bueno. The film was made through a partnership between Brazilian and Italian studios and starred Rodrigo Santoro, Othon Bastos and Cassia Kiss. The film tells the story of Neto, a young man who is admitted to a psychiatric hospital after his father discovers he is a user of marijuana. There, Neto is submitted to abuse. In addition to abuse by psychiatric hospitals, the film deals with the issues of drugs and relationships between fathers and sons.

Bodanzky read Carrano's book in 1996 and, impressed by the theme, assigned Luiz Bolognesi to adapt it into a film and transpose its setting from the 1970s to the 1990s. In addition to keeping the film in the present, Bodanzky chose to make it a documentary-style film to create greater impact on the viewer. Bolognesi began writing in 1997 with the freedom to make changes to the original story. The film was shot in early 2000 in São Paulo, and was edited and finalized in Italy.

Brainstorm had its premiere at the Rio Film Festival in October 2000. It subsequently received several awards and nominations both domestically and internationally; among them, Best Actor at the Cartagena Film Festival, and Best Film at the Brasília Film Festival. Domestic critical response was generally favorable and focused on the acting and its themes. On the other hand, international critics were more mixed in their response.

Synopsis

The film opens as Mr. Wilson reads a letter he has received from his son Neto, in which Neto declares his contempt for his father. It is followed by a flashback to explain the story; Neto, a São Paulo middleclass teenager, has a troubled relationship with his father and his mother, Meire.

Actors