The Edge of Democracy

"Now the Brazilians have also elected their own Donald Trump. Petra Costa's personal film about the fall of the Workers' Party and the victory of cynicism in Brazil lets us understand the political game, but she also shows us the greater perspective. She incorporates the complex history of her own family, and mirrors it in the story of a democracy which is about as young as she is herself, and which she now fears was just a fleeting dream. Brave, thought-provoking and with an artistic wingspan that makes Costa's cinematic essay levitate over the abyss. The family story behind it all is an epic worthy of Thomas Mann in itself, and is tightly interwoven with Brazil's deep and turbulent history. Costa's parents were radical opponents of the military dictatorship at the time, but the family's ties to the country's elite nonetheless extend over several generations. When Costa's mother and the now deposed President Dilma Rousseff meet for a private conversation about participation and democracy, they both speak with an entire lifetime of experience backing them up."
(CPH:DOX)